Time Only Knows
by indysrini
Summary: A Pokemon fanfic, primarily based on AmourShipping, but will also feature references to ContestShipping, AdvanceShipping, and an all new pairing. Will be a three parter- of which the second part will feature a whole new region (subject to reception of the idea).
1. Prologue

Ash sat on a bench, gazing morosely at a silver badge case in his hand. Pikachu watched forlornly as tears, heavy with guilt and depression, attempted to force their way down its trainer's eyes. He hadn't slept well in days, he hadn't eaten a single meal properly. He was constantly tortured by ever-growing regret; and memories that once filled him with happiness now filled him with guilt and depression. He didn't want Pikachu to stay outside, watching him replay his troubled thoughts over and over again.

It was not that he failed in his ambitions. He was, in fact, very successful- and he sat on one of the benches of the Turquoise Plaza of Puerto Regio City- one of the biggest cities of the Iberos Region. Clipped to his belt was the team with which he won the Continental Champions League- winning against the Champions of the Kanto and Johto joint region, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos and Indus. Yet, he felt that he had lost.

"Never give up til' its over- The Straw Hat Girl" read the engraving on the badge case. Ash's heart sank deeper and deeper with each time he glanced at those words. The Straw Hat Girl- Serena. Memories flooded him, until he finally cracked under the weight of all the emotion. The warm hands that would normally embrace him when he was in that state were no longer there; the shoulder draped with tresses of honey-blonde hair that smelled faintly of jasmine- which would shoulder all his pain was no longer there.

"What have I done?" he asked himself bitterly, bringing the badge case to his eyes. "Serena, I'm so sorry!" he whispered to himself, as he took another look at the badge case.

"Pika-pi...Pika...chu..." Pikachu tried consoling him. If someone would've bet on this happening, it would've been a fool's bet. The two were so close to each other, and meant the world to each other. Yet what brought the distance between them?

Almost as if the two hearts were connected and could feel each other's thoughts, a thousand miles away in a different time zone, Serena tossed around uncomfortably on her bed in Vaniville Town, Kalos. The moonlight shone on her tear-stained face. Like him, she barely ate or slept since days without being troubled. Two people who once shared so much together now shared only one thing- sadness and, at that given moment, the same thoughts- Courmarine City.

Ash thought of it, whereas Serena dreamt of it. Though they had met each other much earlier in Pallet Town and the memories they shared there were the most cherished; though they travelled with each other for a very long time and shared great memories, Courmarine City held special significance to them because that was the turning point in their relationship. They were best friends before that, but the events of Courmarine City planted the seeds for something much deeper between them.


	2. Chapter 1- Courmarine Gym

The quartet stood on the Cliffside of Courmarine City. They had just taken the monorail from the lower part of the city to the upper one. Courmarine city was in many ways like Shalour City; though the difference was that Courmarine City had a fully developed port; and a major part of the city stood atop a cliff that overlooked the bay. The abundance of trees and bushes coloured the city with a green hue.

As usual, Ash couldn't wait to challenge the Courmarine Gym, which would give him his fourth badge- the Plant Badge. "I'm so excited to challenge the Courmarine Gym! Aren't you Pikachu?" he said. "Pika pika!" his electric rodent friend chimed in with equal excitement.

"You both are really excited to challenge the Courmarine Gym huh?" Serena said with a smile, her honey coloured hair fluttering in the cool and brisk sea breeze.

"Yep!" Ash said.

Bonnie said, "Yay! Another exciting gym match!" as she clung on to Ash's arm. "You'll win it Ash. I know you will!"

Ash smiled at her. She was as much his younger sister as she was Clemont's.

"I hope you have a strategy against Ramos, Ash. Especially against his Gogoat. That Gogoat looked really strong" Clemont cautioned.

They were introduced to Ramos in very unusual circumstances the day before. A group of Vanillite which had been enraged by Team Rocket had unleashed a cold wave at the city- covering it with snow. Ramos came riding up on his Gogoat- living up to his reputation for being quite eccentric in some ways.

"Relax! I can make use of Fletchinder and Hawlucha! I'll have a great type advantage" said Ash. He unhooked all his PokeBalls, and called out all his Pokemon. "Fletchinder, Hawlucha, Frogadier, Goomy! I choose you!"

There was a flash of white, after which the world immediately turned dark for Ash. Goomy had straight at Ash's face in deep affection. Ash's muffled voice rang out from underneath Goomy, "Hey Goomy! I like you too. Now please get off my face!" as he tried to pull Goomy off his face, tripping and falling backwards in the process.

Serena, Clemont and Bonnie laughed at the sight, as Ash's Pokemon were half perplexed and half overcome with laughter themselves.

Once Ash managed to get Goomy off his face, he stood up and started to give a pep talk to his Pokemon. His first choice was obvious. Fletchinder with its Fire and Flying type was going to be his best card. Hawlucha with its Flying Press would give him a great advantage too. Once he was done, he recalled them all into their PokeBalls and the group set off towards the Courmarine Gym.

They walked towards the direction of the gym, when they came to a point where they had to cross a gate that seemed to open into some sort of a field.

"Wow…this is one huge field!" Clemont said, taking a few steps forward. Just as he did, they heard hooves beating against the grass. A man came riding on a Gogoat and raced past Clemont, who half jumped backwards to dodge. He fell on the ground and looked up to see the man on the back of the Gogoat. The Gogoat reared and came to a halt.

"Ho! What are yeh doing there laddie! Yeh could've been flattened by my Gogoat here!" the man said in a gruff voice. They then had a good look at the man who, to their surprise was an old man! He looked every bit like a gardener; and if that wasn't enough, the gigantic garden scissors he wore on his belt screamed it out.

"What were you doing riding that Gogoat at that high speed?" Bonnie asked scornfully.

He jumped off the back of his Gogoat and walked up to Clemont and offered his hand. He looked deceptively frail and old- for his strength showed the contrary. He helped Clemont get up and he asked, "Are yeh alright there sprout?"

"Erm. Yes. Thank you" Clemont replied, astonished by the strength of the man.

"Say! Aren't y'all those kids I saw yesterday when those Vanillite unleashed that cold wave? Are yeh thinking of challenging the Courmarine Gym?" he asked.

"Yes we are! And I want to challenge you for the Plant Badge!" Ash replied.

"Sure thing! Just head to my gym over there" he said, pointing to a huge tree at a short distance away. He mounted his Gogoat and said, "See ya sprouts later at the gym!" as he leaned forward. His Gogoat raced away at top speed towards the Gym with him yelling out, "Yee-haw!"

"Wow. Korrina's grandfather wasn't joking when he said that he is an eccentric man" Serena said as she watched Gogoat rush towards the gym in surprise and awe- just like the others.

"I really don't think he will be easy Ash. That Gogoat is fast!" Clemont said.

"Well, there's only one way to find out! Let's head to the gym!" Ash said, breaking into a run. The others joined him.

The first thought they all had when they stood in front of the Gym was that it was nothing more than an oversized tree. The only thing that showed that it was in fact the gym was the insignia of a Kalos official gym carved on the wood. There were some pedestals around the tree at intermittent heights. Two levels of those pedestals were linked with a creeper that was to be used as a ladder. Two pedestals on the same level had a thick creeper for swinging between them.

Every challenger had to make their way to the gym in the unconventional method of making their way up with those pedestals and creepers. However, companions of the challenger could take the easy way to the viewers' gallery.

"Good luck Ash! See you at the gym!" Serena said, as she, Clemont and Bonnie took the stairs to the viewers' gallery.

"Yeah Ash! Good luck! I know you will give an awesome battle!" Bonnie said.

"See you Ash. Take care!" Clemont said.

"Here Serena, take care of Pikachu for me" he said, handing over Pikachu to her. "Sorry buddy. But I plan to use the others for this battle. You can cheer me on from above with them" he said to Pikachu. "Pika!" came the reply in the affirmative.

"Well, up I go then" he said to himself, and with a huge heave, he began climbing up the first creeper. After jumping about, running, swinging and climbing that made him feel like a jungle boy, he finally reached the gym arena. As if the tree and creepers weren't testament enough to the fact that it was a Grass type speciality gym, more shrubs and bushes surrounded the arena.

"Ash! Here we are!" Serena and Bonnie called out from above him- from the viewers' gallery. "Pika pika!" Pikachu called out as well. Ash waved to them, and then looked around him again. He walked towards the bushes and took a look.

"Ho! So yeh've made it clear up here! I'm the Gym Leader. Ramos's the name" a booming voice said, almost startling Ash. Ramos was standing, quite close to him. Ash was so preoccupied by the bushes and the shrubs that he hadn't noticed Ramos come up beside him. "So what'd yeh think, whippersnapper? Did yeh enjoy the garden playground I made with all these sturdy plants o' mine? Their strength is a sign o' my strength as a gardener and a Gym Leader! Yeh sure yer up to facing all that?"

"Er. Yes sir!" a perplexed Ash said.

"That's the spirit and energy I expect of a young lad!" he said. "Take yer place!"

They took their places on either side of the arena.

"This Gym battle is a three on three match, with the Plant Badge at stake. The Gym leader will reveal his Pokemon first. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokemon during the match!" said the referee who had walked in to stand on the sidelines of the arena. "Gym leader, choose your Pokemon!"

Ramos took out a PokeBall and called out, "Weepinbell, let's battle" The flash revealed an energetic Weepinbell.

"Fletchinder! I choose you!" Ash said, as the flash from his side revealed his Fletchinder.

In the balcony above, Bonnie was almost jumping with excitement, "Ash should win this easily!"

Clemont, however, said with a slightly worried look, "Going by type matchups, Ash should have it easy. Fletchinder is a Fire and a Flying type, and any Flame Charge attacks would do a great deal of damage. But I somehow think that there's more to Ramos than what we see"

Serena heard that, and suddenly she felt her confidence take a hit. Could it be possible that Ramos had something up his sleeve? After all, he did look deceptively frail. But he was incredibly strong. Perhaps his Pokemon looked deceptively weak too? She turned towards the arena, and looked on with slight, but growing worry.

Then, the referee said, "Let the battle begin!"

"Yeh can make the first move sprout!" Ramos said.

"Alright thanks! Fletchinder, use Wing Attack!" Fletchinder immediately braced itself, and flew towards Weepinbell like it was fired from a slingshot.

"Weepinbell, dodge" Ramos said. And to everyone's surprise, Weepinbell managed to dodge Fletchinder's attack! "Now use Stun Spore!" he said.

"Fletchinder! Blow it away with Gust!" Fletchinder let a powerful Gust attack rip through, thus blowing away the Stun Spore. "Now use Steel Wing!" The Ember Pokemon dived down towards Weepinbell, its wings glowing.

"Weepinbell! Quick! Dodge it!" Ramos said frantically. However Weepinbell couldn't react as fast as it was still recovering from the Gust which, although couldn't land a direct hit, had made it concentrate on keeping itself grounded. It managed to jump away, but Fletchinder landed a hit. Weepinbell landed on the ground, but got up wincing.

"Weepinbell! Are yeh alright?" Ramos called out. "Bell" Weepinbell answered affirmatively.

"Fletchinder let's finish this! Use Flame Charge!" Fletchinder covered itself in a flame as it flew at top speed towards Weepinbell.

"Weepinbell, wait for it!" Ramos said. Once Fletchinder came at point blank range, he shouted out, "Now! Use Vine Whip to knock that bird off course!" Weepinbell reacted instantly as two vines shot off its sides towards the flaming Fletchinder. The Vine Whip struck Fletchinder squarely in the chest as it achieved the desired effect. It knocked Fletchinder off course. It missed Weepinbell completely and crashed to the ground a short distance away.

"No way!" Ash exclaimed.

In the balcony above, the trio watched with great surprise. "Incredible!" Clemont exclaimed. "What an unusual strategy! He simply used the Vine Whip attack to knock Fletchinder off course. It's an attack that would do very little damage to it under normal circumstances, yet it was effective enough to prevent a lot of damage" Serena's worry was growing. She clenched her fist and placed it on her heart. Like the others, she had believed that a Fire and Flying type Pokemon like Fletchinder would have a definitive advantage over Ramos's Grass type.

"Weepinbell, use Razor Leaf!" Ramos called out.

"Fletchinder! Dodge!" Ash shouted out. Fletchinder got up and flew away- managing to dodge most of the projectiles, but it took a hit nevertheless. It was starting to tire out. "Let's finish this now. Fletchinder, use Gust!"

Fletchinder let rip the most powerful Gust attack that it could.

"Weepinbell! Stand your ground!" Ramos called out. Weepinbell struggled to stay grounded as the powerful Gust attack tried to blow it away.

"Now Fletchinder! Use Flame Charge!" Ash ordered. Fletchinder was once again covered in flames as it shot towards Weepinbell, this time faster than before.

"Weepinbell! You know what to do!" Ramos shouted. Weepinbell braced itself again in the similar fashion, and hit out with a Vine Whip. However, it didn't calculate the increase in Fletchinder's speed. Fletchinder moved slightly upwards to dodge the Vine Whip and smashed squarely on to Weepinbell, sending it flying. Ramos watched in astonishment as it crashed down hard on the ground, whipping up a thick dust cloud.

"Weepinbell is unable to battle!" the referee said, looking at the limp Pokemon once the dust cloud had cleared. It had clearly fainted. "Fletchinder wins!"

"Alright!" Clemont and Bonnie exclaimed together. Serena sighed heavily in relief and smiled down at Ash. "That was such a great battle! Wasn't it Serena?" the little blonde girl asked. Serena however didn't hear her. She was oblivious to her surroundings due to her joy and relief. Ash managed to win that nail-biter of a match. "Great job Ash!" she whispered.

Bonnie heard it. She was a bit taken aback for a second, but it seemed to dawn on her. A wide grin appeared on her face as she said, "Serena?" That snapped Serena out of her thoughts. "Yeah Bonnie?" she asked, turning towards a grinning Bonnie.

"It was such an exciting match wasn't it? Ash did a great job didn't he?" Bonnie said, putting emphasis on the second question. She was beginning to suspect that Serena had feelings for Ash.

"Yeah it sure was!" Serena said with a smile. But then she saw Bonnie continuing to grin ear to ear, when it felt like someone poured a bucket full of ice water on her. "Did she hear me? Does she know?" she thought to herself. It didn't seem a coincidence that Bonnie was grinning that way. The group returned to paying attention to the match.

Ash recalled his Fletchinder. It was significantly tired after a long battle, and he didn't want to completely tire it out. Ramos called out a Jumpluff next. Ash chose his Hawlucha. The referee looked at both sides and called out, "Let the battle begin!"

"Alright Hawlucha. Let's make this quick! Use Karate Chop!" Ash ordered. Hawlucha ran towards Jumpluff, and was on the verge of launching a strong Karate Chop attack at it, when Ramos called out, "Jumpluff, dodge and use Sweet Scent!"

Jumpluff lifted off the ground in response. It was a very light weight Pokemon and could easily float in the air. It then launched its attack. A sweet fragrance filled the arena; and Hawlucha was slightly mesmerized by it.

"Hawlucha! Snap out of it and use Karate Chop!" came the order from Ash. "Lucha!" Hawlucha replied as it shook its head and took a powerful jump towards Jumpluff.

"Petal Dance! Now!" Ramos shouted out. Jumpluff took the order and shot off a powerful Petal Dance attack, which landed a direct hit on Hawlucha. It had already lost a bit of its evasiveness to the Sweet Scent, and hurtling towards Jumpluff at top speed didn't help it in changing directions either. It was thrown back to the ground.

"Oh no! Hawlucha please get up!" said a desperate Ash. He was stunned. Ramos certainly lived up to his eccentric tag. Hawlucha struggled to get back on its feet, as Ramos ordered, "Jumpluff, use Solar Beam!"

Jumpluff began taking in energy to charge for the Solar Beam, as Hawlucha tried to get back on its feet. It finally managed, as Ash ordered it to launch a Flying Press on Jumpluff. Hawlucha leapt high up, spun around and hurtled towards Jumpluff just as it finished charging for the Solar Beam.

"Now!" shouted Ramos. Jumpluff let out the Solar Beam attack which landed straight on Hawlucha at close range. Had it been delayed just a second longer, perhaps things would've ended differently. But as things stood, Hawlucha crashed on to the ground; unable to battle.

The referee checked on Hawlucha and proclaimed, "Hawlucha is unable to battle! Jumpluff wins!" Ash recovered from his shock and recalled Hawlucha to its PokeBall. "You did a great job Hawlucha. You deserve a good rest" he said to the PokeBall.

The trio above were astounded. Clemont said, "Incredible! What unique strategy! But I'm worried for Ash. Hawlucha has been knocked out, and Fletchinder hasn't really recovered from the previous battle against Weepinbell. Ash doesn't have any other Pokemon that are strong against Grass types. Goomy's type may good but Goomy hasn't been around with Ash for long enough to be battle ready; and it is rather weak. Frogadier is weak too against Grass types."

Bonnie clung on to Serena and said, "Brother please stop! Ash will do fine. Don't be so negative!"

Clemont replied, "Bonnie, I'm just saying facts! I really hope Ash can come up with a counter strategy now"

Serena embraced Bonnie reassuringly and swallowed all her fear and worry to tell Bonnie in a calm and composed voice, "Now Bonnie. The match isn't over just yet. Ash still has two Pokemon left. And Fletchinder is quite strong too!" They turned their attention back to the battle.

Ash had hoped that he could rest Fletchinder and use it against Ramos's third Pokemon after it was tired out a bit by Hawlucha and his own third Pokemon. However it seemed like the Jumpluff was no easy task either. He made his decision, and unclipped Fletchinder's PokeBall from his belt and released it, "Fletchinder, I choose you!"

"Fletchinder!" it let out a battle cry. Ash said, "Fletchinder, I know you must be tired out from the previous battle; but we need to win this."

"Let the battle begin!" commanded the referee.

"Fletchinder, use Flame Charge!" Ash commanded.

"Jumpluff, dodge it and use Stun Spore!" Ramos interjected. Jumpluff managed to dodge Fletchinder's Flame Charge by a hair's breadth, and it unleased a Stun Spore attack. An orange cloud moved towards the Ember Pokemon.

"Fletchinder, blow it away using Gust!" Ash said. Fletchinder powerfully flapped its wings to blow away the Gust. The Gust however, had an additional effect. It started blowing Jumpluff away too. The same light weight that gave it an advantage against Hawlucha seemed to be turning against it. Ash noticed and ordered, "Hit it with a Razor Wind now!"

"No!" Ramos interjected; as the Razor Wind hit its mark with ease. Jumpluff had taken a lot of damage with the combination of attacks.

"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed, in mini celebration.

"Hold it there whippersnapper. The match ain't over yet!" Ramos said. "Jumpluff, use Synthesis"

Ash watched in surprise as Jumpluff glowed white; and revealed itself again, fresher than before. It had healed itself! "No!" he exclaimed to himself.

"Jumpluff, use Petal Dance!" Ramos ordered. Jumpluff launched a Petal Dance attack against the perplexed Fletchinder, who was as confused and amazed at Jumpluff healing itself as its trainer.

"Fletchinder, dodge!" Ash screamed. Fletchinder snapped out of its dazedness and dodged the attack quickly. "This is not going to work. I need to finish the battle before it gets a chance to use its Synthesize" Ash thought. He racked his brains for an idea to take out Jumpluff, then it struck him.

"Fletchinder, give it the most powerful Gust attack you can manage!" Ash ordered. Fletchinder beat its wings for all it was worth and launched a Gust more powerful than the previous one. Once again, Jumpluff tried its best to stay in place, but it was too lightweight and was blown backwards again.

"Now! Use Flame Charge!" Ash frantically ordered as Jumpluff was being thrown backwards in an arc. Fletchinder engulfed itself in flames and charged at top speed towards Jumpluff.

"No!" exclaimed Ramos as he watched a flaming missile head towards his Jumpluff, which stood no chance of dodging it given its state. Fletchinder landed a direct hit on Jumpluff, which shot towards the ground with the impact of Fletchinder's attack.

"Now use Razor Wind!" Ash commanded. Fletchinder complied, and performed the attack that finished the battle for sure this time.

"Jumpluff is unable to battle! Fletchinder wins!" the referee's voice rang out.

"Return Jumpluff" Ramos recalled his Pokemon. "You put up a great fight."

He looked at his challenger, and said, "Yeh really are a great trainer sprout. But I don't intend on giving up the Plant Badge so easily. Now for the finale! Gogoat!"

Just as the trio in the balcony, and Ash in the battlefield, were about to breathe easy, the light revealed the fierce looking, well-trained Gogoat; which was rearing to go.

"Will the challenger substitute his Pokemon?" the referee inquired.

"No. I'll stick with Fletchinder." Ash replied.

"Let the battle begin!"

"Fletchinder! Let's finish this quickly. Use Gust!" Ash ordered

"Gogoat stand your ground and knock it downwards with Vine Whip!" Ramos shouted out.

The Gust had seemingly no effect in unbalancing Gogoat, which was considerably heavier than Jumpluff to be affected in a similar way. It stood its ground and shot out two vines and knocked Fletchinder downwards.

"Now Gogoat. Use Take Down!" Ramos ordered.

"Fletchinder! Please try to pull up!" Ash shouted desperately, as he watched Gogoat charging towards his free-falling Fletchinder at top speed. Fletchinder was too stunned by sudden knock of the Vine Whip, and too tired to put in the extra effort to try and break the momentum. There was a sickening sound as Gogoat's Take Down made direct contact on Fletchinder. It was a perfect combination move, and the timing of Gogoat's charge was absolutely spot on. Fletchinder was thrown backwards with the impact as it finally hit the ground, kicking up a dust cloud, unable to get up.

Once the dust cloud cleared, the referee called out, "Fletchinder is unable to battle! Gogoat wins!" He didn't have to look twice to know that Fletchinder could no longer battle.

"Fletchinder, return" Ash recalled his trusted partner. "You did a fantastic job. Thank you. Now take a good long rest"

Above the battlefield, the trio stood shell shocked. "That was a brilliant combination move! Ramos's battle strategy is really unbelievable! Fletchinder couldn't land a single attack on Gogoat! Ash is in quite a fix now" Clemont said, in half awe and half anxiety. Had there been another trainer on the challenger's side, he would have been delighted.

"I can't watch anymore! I don't want Ash to lose!" Bonnie cried out as she clung on to Serena's arm. Serena subconsciously placed her hand on Bonnie's head and pulled her close into a one-armed embrace. However, she was preoccupied with her own worries. She felt slightly more confident when Fletchinder managed to take out Weepinbell; and she certainly never thought that Gogoat would have done away with Fletchinder so easily. Clemont's words earlier rang in her head, "Ash doesn't have any other Pokemon that are strong against Grass types." She placed her other hand on her heart as she prayed that Ash would get through the battle. "Ash. Please do something. I know you can do it!" she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Ash faced a dilemma. His two Pokemon which had the advantage were now unable to battle against a powerful opponent. Goomy stood no chance either. He was left with only one option. An option he probably wouldn't have taken if he had other choices.

"Frogadier, I choose you!" Ash said as he threw out his PokeBall. "Frogadier, we need to win this at any cost" he said as Frogadier appeared. "Frogai, frog" it replied in the affirmative. This was the faceoff; the showdown for the Plant Badge. Frogadier poised itself, ready to obey any command in a jiffy.

"Battle begin!" the referee yelled, lifting both his flags in the air, and the battle was under way.

"Frogadier, use Water Pulse!" Ash ordered. Frogadier quickly prepared a Water Pulse and unleased a ball of water towards Gogoat.

"Gogoat, dodge it and use Vine Whip!" Ramos commanded, to which Gogoat attempted to side step the attack, but failed. The Water Pulse slammed against Gogoat's head; though it did little more than stun Gogoat. "Gogoat! No!" Ramos exclaimed in surprise.

Gogoat recovered soon enough. "Use Razor Leaf!" Gogoat shot off a very unusual Razor Leaf attack- which seemed more like a tornado of leaves than anything else.

"Frogadier, run towards it and use cut!" Ash commanded. Frogadier complied and blasted through the tornado with a powerful Cut attack. However the leaves simply regained their power and smashed against Frogadier- landing a powerful hit and causing quite some damage.

"Frogadier! Are you okay?" Ash asked. "Frog!" came a curt reply. "Great. Now use Bubble!" he commanded. He hoped to stun Gogoat and then rush in for a Cut attack.

The Bubble attack hit Gogoat squarely, but did little damage. But it had the effect that Ash hoped for, and he commanded, "Now Frogadier, use Cut!"

Frogadier rushed towards Gogoat, attempting to use a Cut attack.

"Gogoat! Quick! Use Bulldoze!" Ramos commanded. Gogoat charged towards Frogadier with such intensity that it seemed like Frogadier attacking it wouldn't be worth it.

"Frogadier, jump and dodge that attack!" Ash ordered. Frogadier sprung up into the air and dodged the charging Gogoat.

Ramos gave a smug smile, and said, "Gogoat, now use Vine Whip to knock Frogadier down, and then use Take Down"

"Oh no!" Ash exclaimed. "Frogadier, quick! Use Double Team!" Frogadier landed on its feet and reacted instantly- running around Gogoat with dizzying speed- almost creating doubles of itself. Gogoat ran past one of the doubles- doing no damage whatsoever to Frogadier.

"Now use Water Pulse!" Ash ordered.

Frogadier stopped short- instantly making the doubles disappear. It launched a Water Pulse attack at Gogoat, which was left flat-footed after the missed Take Down. The attack found its mark- knocking Gogoat slightly. Frogadier rushed towards it and attacked it with an attack that strongly resembled Cut- though it seemed more like an uppercut. The attack dealt a great deal of damage on Gogoat- which fell on to the ground with the impact.

"Aerial Ace!" Clemont exclaimed. "Aerial Ace is a Flying type move. It was super effective!" he continued. The battle seemed to have turned around. Ash seemed to have the advantage.

Ash recognized the attack too, and that attack infused a lot of confidence in him.

"Gogoat! Can yeh get up?!" Ramos asked in concern. Gogoat struggled slightly, but managed to get back on its feet. It had taken a lot of damage with the Aerial Ace. "Great. Now let's finish this. Use Razor Leaf!" he commanded.

"Not this time! Frogadier, use Double Team!" Frogadier ran around Gogoat in a circle, not allowing Gogoat to know its real position.

"Ergh. Use Vine Whip on all of them to find the real one!" Ramos commanded. Gogoat was dazed, and rather frustrated after the Aerial Ace attack. It fired its vines on either side as it narrowed the field of Frogadier until the vines made contact, stopping it at its tracks. "Found yer! Now use Take Down!" Gogoat charged at Frogadier; finding an extra boost of speed with its anger.

"Frogadier, jump up and dodge, and use Water Pulse!" Frogadier responded, as its superior speed helped it easily dodge Gogoat. It fired a Water Pulse straight at the stranded goat, as it landed a direct hit. "Now, quickly. Use Aerial Ace!" Frogadier began running towards Gogoat at top speed just as it landed and landed a critical hit.

"No!" Ramos exclaimed as Gogoat fell to the ground. It struggled to get up, but failed. The battle was over.

"Gogoat is unable to battle! Frogadier and the challenger win the match!" the referee called out after taking a look at Gogoat.

"Yeah! We did it!" Ash exclaimed as he gave Frogadier a wide embrace. Ramos recalled his Gogoat, and smiled as he watched Ash and his Frogadier bask in the glory of the victory at the Courmarine City gym.

"Oh yeah! He did it! Ash won his fourth badge!" Clemont exclaimed. Bonnie was ecstatic, and was doing a small jig holding Dedenne in her hands. Serena finally breathed easy and smiled at the sight of Ash, Frogadier and Pikachu celebrating as she said, "Yeah. That was one tough battle wasn't it? Let's go down to him."

Serena heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Great job Ash" she whispered to herself, before turning to look at Clemont and Bonnie. But Bonnie seemed to have taken the hint. She was probably right about Serena, and her wide grin as they ran to join Ash suggested as much.

"Congratulations Ash, you have won your fourth gym badge!" Clemont said delightedly. "That was an amazing battle!"

"Yeah thanks! I owe it all to my Pokemon" Ash replied, placing a hand over Frogadier's shoulder. "Froggy, frog" Frogadier replied.

"So you can now challenge Clemont and the Lumiose Gym!" Serena said with a smile.

"Yeah." Ash replied. Then turning to Clemont, he said, "Well, I finally have four gym badges! Now it is time for our battle!"

"Yeah. But don't expect me to go easy on you!" Clemont said.

"Not at all! I want it to be a battle that we will never forget. Let's both give it our very best" Ash replied with a smile.

Serena and Bonnie smiled at the two. Clemont and Ash were less like friends, and more like brothers. Ramos came up to Ash and said, "Yeh believe in yer Pokemon. And they believe in yeh too. Mighty oaks from acorns grow." The statement perplexed the group, but Ash nodded as if he understood every word of it.

He presented the Plant Badge to Ash, and said, "Go on then. Yeh've earned it. Here's yer own Plant Badge, sprout! I expect yer gonna do great things! Keep pressing forth!"

Ash nodded as he said, "I sure will. Thanks sir" He then turned towards the group and said ecstatically, "Yeah! The Plant Badge is mine!" "Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu chimed in. "Froggie, frog frog" Frogadier joined in.

"Yeh do know that yer next gym battle is against this young lad here don't yeh? I wish yeh both luck for it. But while you are here, why not join us in the Festival of the Vow Tree?"

"Festival of the Vow Tree?" the group chorused.

"Yes! People give gifts to their Pokemon under this tree we call the Vow Tree. It is said to strengthen the bond between trainer and Pokemon. What d'yeh say?" Ramos said.

"Sure. We'd love to join" Ash said.

The quartet made their way out of the Gym, and to the Pokemon Centre. Ash, as usual gobbled up his dinner. He had a gargantuan appetite even under normal circumstances. And the fact that he just had a heated gym battle increased his appetite even further.

By the time the lights went off in their room when they decided to retire for the night, Bonnie had hatched a plan. She was grinning ear to ear as she lay down; replaying the sight of Serena's reaction in the Gym. The excitement and suspense of the battles after that had not erased the memory. She would execute the plan tomorrow, she thought. Meanwhile a few feet away from her, Serena thought of Bonnie's reaction in the Gym. Had she been too blatant about her feelings towards Ash in the heat of the moment? However she shrugged it off, as her eyelids grew heavy.

Soon, the group were sleeping soundly, completely oblivious (except Bonnie) to the fact that the next day would be an eventful one for Ash and Serena.


	3. Chapter 2- First Date?

The morning sun bathed the dining hall of the Pokemon Centre with a yellowish hue. The quartet sat around a table, tucking into their breakfast. Pikachu had engaged itself with a bottle of its favourite ketchup since it was done with its Pokemon food. Ash ploughed through his meal faster than the others, as usual. He had thoroughly relished every morsel of his meal.

"Man. My favourite meal after my mom's special stew is probably the Kalos Breakfast! It is one of the most satisfying meals ever!" he said, letting his feelings be known.

"Sure. That's what you say after almost any meal. It is no longer special when you say that" Clemont joked, drawing laughter from Bonnie and Serena.

Ash pouted and replied in mock annoyance, "Well. I'm just appreciating the little things in life"; a comment which drew peals of laughter from the group.

When the laughter subsided, Bonnie decided it was time to put her plan into action. "Hey Ash! You remember what Ramos said about the Vow Tree Festival? Shouldn't you buy presents for your Pokemon?" she asked innocently.

"I suppose you're right, Bonnie! So we need to go shopping for that. But I don't know what gifts to pick for my Pokemon" he replied.

"Oh that's okay. Serena could go with you. After all, Serena may need to buy things for her upcoming Tripokelon as well right?" Bonnie said, an involuntary grin appearing on her face.

Serena was slightly astonished at the suggestion. She quickly replied, "Er. Yeah! I need to uh, buy a dress!" "What is Bonnie doing?" she thought. "It really seems like she does know!" She didn't think that she had revealed her feelings towards Ash in any way that was obvious enough for Bonnie to see it. Did that mean Ash got the hint too?

"Thanks Serena!" Ash said with a smile, breaking her thought process. "But aren't you and Clemont joining us too?" he asked.

Just as Clemont was about to reply, Bonnie cut in and said, "Oh Clemont can stay here with me. We could all take care of your Pokemon and have a great time!" Clemont was slightly surprised at how his little sister cut him off.

"Hmm. Alright! I guess we'll get going at 10.00 then. Is that okay with you Serena?" Ash inquired.

"Yeah it's fine!" Serena replied, still not recovered from the astonishment that Bonnie made such a suggestion; and from the happiness that she and Ash were finally going to spend some time together; just the two of them. "This is not a date Serena. You're just going shopping with Ash to buy some presents for his Pokemon and a dress for yourself" she thought to herself. Happy as she was, she didn't want to delude herself into believing that she was going on a date with Ash.

"Great!" Ash replied with a wide smile. The group then decided to wash up after the meal. When it was time to go, Ash called out all his Pokemon; and once he managed to get Goomy down from its trademark embrace, he asked them to cooperate with Clemont and Bonnie; and have fun as it was their off-day. Just as Ash and Serena were about to leave, Bonnie interrupted, "Hey Ash. Why not leave Pikachu here as well?"

"Huh?" Ash queried. In all their travels, Pikachu and he were rarely separated from each other; much less for a shopping trip.

"Well, you wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for Pikachu right?" Bonnie said with a wide grin. "Besides, Pikachu can join us all too! It will be loads of fun, right Dedenne?" she asked the tiny mouse Pokemon sitting on her head. "Ne ne ne!" the reply came in the affirmative.

Ash gave it a thought. What Bonnie said did make sense. Besides, Pikachu could always enjoy the company of the other Pokemon for the day. And there also lay the point of the surprise being spoilt if Pikachu followed him. "I guess you're right" he said. "What do you say Pikachu?"

"Pika-chu!" came the reply. Ash extended his arm to allow Pikachu to run down his arm from his shoulder.

"Alright! Have fun you two! See you later!" Bonnie said, her grin growing wider every second.

"See you two later too!" Ash returned the greeting to Clemont and Bonnie. "And have fun, you guys!" he said, addressing his Pokemon.

"Bye! Have a good time, both of you!" Clemont called out, as Ash and Serena made their way towards the exit. Serena turned to wave at Clemont when she made eye contact with Bonnie, who winked at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"So she does know!" Serena thought, as she smiled at Bonnie, waved a quick farewell and caught up with Ash.

"Alright. What was that about?" Clemont asked Bonnie, slightly annoyed at the way she cut him off earlier.

Bonnie called her big brother to a side, out of earshot of the Pokemon. Barely able to contain her glee, she blurted out, "Serena likes Ash!"

"What? Are you sure?" Clemont asked, in absolute disbelief. He knew about how they first met, and he had seen their nostalgic reunion earlier after they exited Santalune City. But despite travelling with them both for quite a while, he never noticed Serena showing any more feelings towards Ash than deep friendship.

"Absolutely sure!" Bonnie replied confidently.

"How do you know this?" Clemont asked in astonishment.

"Remember back in the Cyllage Gym? Serena was very worried about Ash. Much more worried than we were?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah. But that need not necessarily mean anything!" Clemont exclaimed.

"Yeah. But yesterday during the Gym battle, Serena clearly showed a lot of concern towards Ash. Much more concern than we would normally show. Oh big brother, I just know that Serena likes Ash!" Bonnie replied.

"I don't know Bonnie. I still feel we shouldn't be interfering in their matters. We could ruin their friendship you know" Clemont said disapprovingly.

"Come on big brother! It will be fine! Trust me!" Bonnie insisted.

Clemont sighed. He hoped that she was right. The last thing he wanted was to spoil the dynamic of their group. He shook his head and got back to working on one of his new inventions.

Meanwhile Ash and Serena made their way to the Bayview Megamall. It was the biggest mall in Kalos outside Lumiose City. They walked past several sun-bathed avenues. Courmarine City had the title of the greenest city in Kalos, and it was easy to see why. Nearly all the streets were avenues; and most houses had at least one tree growing. Little did they know that they were being watched by a certain familiar group which had no good intentions.

From a distance, James and Meowth were tracking the two teens using a pair of binoculars each. The blue-haired man asked in slight surprise, "There's two of the twerps! But wait. Where are the other two blonde twerps?" James was a member of Team Rocket, an organized crime group from Kanto- Ash's native region. He and his friends Jessie and Meowth had followed Ash throughout his travels ever since they first experienced his Pikachu's power first hand. Meowth regarded himself as part human since he didn't belong to anyone, and he was probably the only Pokemon in the world which could speak in human language!

"Forget the other two! Where is Pikachu?" Meowth asked.

"WOBBA WOB!" came a reply from behind, startling the two. There stood Jessie's Wobbuffet in its trademark pose.

"Keep quiet you blue blob!" James and Meowth scrambled to hush the Pokemon. It had a bad habit of interrupting their discussions in that way. While Jessie hated it in the beginning when she realized it was a result of an accidental trade with her Lickitung going the other way, she came to accept it. And deep down inside, the group loved Wobbuffet just the same.

Once they were done scuffling with Wobbuffet, James and Meowth got back to their positions- tracking the two once again. "Yes. Now that you mention it, where is Pikachu? What do you think Jess?" James asked, to no reply. "Jess?" He called as he looked around to find the magenta-haired lady. He turned back as he did a double-take in shock. Meowth noticed as he turned back to look at what startled his friend so much; but he only succeeded in doing a double take himself.

There stood Jessie, wearing a pink dress with fur around her neck. She wore gaudy make-up on her face which made her look like a Seviper which hid its fangs and had a failed beauty session. Beside her floated her Pumpkaboo, which was wearing some bizarre face-painting. All in all, the two of them would've made a perfect addition to the Theatre of Screams in the Bayview Megamall.

"Behold the beauty from Kanto; and soon to be Kalos Queen!" she said, in a dreamy voice. James's, Meowth's and Wobbuffet's expressions soon turned from horror to exasperation.

"Behold the Queen of pipe dreams" James muttered.

"You said it Jimmie" Meowth muttered.

"Wobba..." Even Wobbuffet had to mutter in acknowledgement of James.

"Jess, don't forget our mission. We need to go catch that Pikachu and return it to the boss!" James said.

"And give up my opportunity to finally shine in the limelight? Honestly don't you ever think this one-track mindset doesn't suit us? We are Team Rocket- versatile, adaptable. Besides, you said it yourself that Pikachu wasn't there along with the two twerps. Even they took the day off for a date! So why can't we move from the routine for once?"

"Oooh. A date you say!" James said with a sly grin. Returning to his serious self, he said, "But shouldn't we go track down the other two twerps? Pikachu is sure to be with them. We could ambush them and try to steal Pikachu!"

His words fell to deaf ears. Jessie had returned to posing with Pumpkaboo and practising for the upcoming Tripokelon. That is, if one were to consider it practise for a Tripokelon and not for a war dance of a tribe from a faraway region.

"Oh well. I suppose we could take a break from getting blasted off again for once" James sighed.

"Wob-wobbuffet..." Wobbuffet said.

"You said it, my blue brother. I would prefer to get blasted off than to watch Jessie with her pipe dreams too" Meowth muttered.

There they stood, in front of the wide gates of the Bayview Megamall. There was one wide avenue leading from the gates to the mall entrance. Around the mall was a massive park where various families and couples picnicked under the shade of various trees. A promenade ran around the mall, with Bourbon era streetlights. The other side behind the mall overlooked the bay, which gave the mall its name. The place rang with the cries of Fletchling and Pidgey which nested in the various trees. The cool sea breeze blew across the esplanade.

Both Ash and Serena were rooted to the spot- awestruck by the size of the whole place. It wasn't that they hadn't seen any malls before. But most of them were tall buildings and didn't have open space like the Bayview Megamall did. They then made their way to the mall entrance.

The mall was filled with various boutiques selling all varieties of items. There were PokeBall emporiums, jewellery shops, shops selling various healing items for Pokemon, herb shops, Furfrou salons, a wide array of restaurants, clothes boutiques and many more. The mall had several advertisements pointing to the exhibition hall which was hosting an electronics expo. "See the face-off between the PokeGear, the PokeNav and the Holo Caster made by Silph Co., Devon Corp, and Lysandre Labs!" the advertisements read.

Ash and Serena walked around, looking at the various shops and advertisements. Ash felt hopeless. He always felt that buying a small gift from a tiny PokeMart was like finding a needle in a haystack. Looking for a gift in the mall seemed to be tougher than finding a needle in the Viridian Forest!

Serena soon pointed out a bakery and said, "Hey Ash. Do you think we should buy something for the Pokemon from here? It seems to be some famous bakery."

It did seem to be a famous bakery. They had various posters boasting of newspaper articles from the Courmarine Daily, the Kalos Times and many others giving rave reviews of their food that was loved both by humans and Pokemon alike. The shop itself was divided into three sections- one for human food takeaways, one for Pokemon food takeaways and the third section with tables and chairs for dine-in. Their signature dish for Pokemon was macarons. These éclairs were special in the sense that they had different flavours for different types of Pokemon. They even had special éclairs for multi-type Pokemon!

The star dish for humans was the Slurpuff Bakery Secret Mousse- which seemed to have some secret in what looked like a chocolate mousse. The one thing that both the sections had in common was the queue waiting to purchase their batch of food. The queues seemed to be equal in length, and were daunting to a newcomer. After some deliberation, Ash and Serena decided to enter the queue, which seemed longer than a Rayquaza.

For an hour they stood, inching forward towards the counter. They indulged in some small talk in the meanwhile like the others, adding to the undecipherable buzz of numerous people talking along with the clinking of cutlery from the third section- all of which was music to the ears of the owner, who was easily identifiable as the portly man near one of the counters, beaming at his staff; and his cash register.

They finally picked up their batch of mousses, with different flavours for Ash's Pokemon; a batch of macarons for Clemont's Pokemon and another batch of macarons for his Chespin. Ash had reasoned that Chespin loved Serena's macarons and rarely left any out for the other Pokemon, and therefore buying a batch specifically for it was a prudent option. They also bought some baby-sized pink macarons for Dedenne, and finally some for Pancham and a stock of Fennekin's favourite twigs; which were additionally flavoured.

By the time they managed to exit the shop, it was lunchtime, as Ash's tummy told him. Ash sheepishly grinned and said, "Er. I guess it is lunchtime then"

Serena couldn't help but laugh. He wasn't much for manners, but he was funny. That was one of his many flaws, but she had come to accept it. While they looked around for a restaurant, they came across a shop selling trinkets. Serena asked Ash to wait as she went inside and came out a few minutes later.

They continued to look around for a restaurant. Finally, they settled for a restaurant serving Kanto cuisine. Surprisingly for Serena, Ash allowed her to order first when the waiter came to take their order. She shrugged and said to Ash, "I guess I'll just share whatever you take" She turned to the waiter and said, "I'll have one strawberry milkshake, thanks"

The waiter took note and turned to Ash, "And how about you sir?"

"I'll have one Triple Chilli Pot Stew, and two bowls of rice to go with it" he replied.

"So that would mean one bowl for you and one for the lady sir?"

"No. Both for me!" Ash said with an expression like as if the waiter had just asked him to hand over all his Pokemon. "But do add one more for the lady"

"Sure sir. Will that be all? Any drinks?" asked the waiter.

"Er yeah. I think I'll have a strawberry milkshake too" Ash replied.

"Got it sir. Your food will be here soon", he said with a smile. He went away, and returned quickly, with a candle in hand. He placed it in the middle of the table, smiled at them and said, "Have a nice time!"

Ash smiled and thanked the waiter, oblivious of its purpose. Serena blushed slightly. She quickly said, "S-so Ash, you and Pikachu have gone on plenty of journeys before right?"

"Yeah! We've had loads of adventures together- in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova" he replied brightly. "That's how we developed such a close bond together"

Serena smiled. She knew all too well how close a bond they shared. She remembered how Ash jumped after Pikachu from the top of the Prism Tower. She said, "Wow. That's a lot of adventures together! Seems like you both got on perfectly with each other from the start huh?"

Ash smiled and shook his head. "Actually, we had less of an ideal start with each other. I was supposed to get my first Pokemon that day from Professor Oak; but I overslept, and the other three starters: Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur were all taken by other trainers. The Squirtle was taken by a guy called Gary, my main rival, and my best friend. We grew up together in Pallet Town."

"Professor Oak however, had Pikachu. He was quite rebellious, and the Professor warned me so. The first thing that Pikachu did was attacking me with a Thundershock" he said, with a light laugh.

"Pikachu just didn't listen to me as we set off on Route 1 towards Viridian City. In fact, he disrespected and disliked me."

"What? I can't imagine Pikachu not liking you and not listening to you!" Serena exclaimed in surprise. "It seems unthinkable given the bond you both share"

Ash smiled and said, "I know. I think the same sometimes."

"Wow. So how did you both come to develop such a close bond?" she asked, still surprised.

"You see, I wanted to prove a point to Pikachu by catching my first Pokemon without his help. At first, I encountered a Pidgey. I threw a PokeBall at it instinctively without weakening it first, and it knocked the PokeBall right back at my face and flew away" he said, with a small laugh.

He continued, "Pikachu laughed at my failed attempt, which riled me and pushed me to prove a point to it even more. So I found another Pokemon at a distance, which looked a lot like a Pidgey. This time, I threw a rock at it to weaken it. But it turned out that it was a Spearow. Spearow have bad tempers you see, and it definitely wasn't happy about that. The Spearow began attacking Pikachu, so it used a Thundershock on it. But that only managed to draw out a horde of Spearow. Pikachu got seriously injured, so I picked up Pikachu and made a run for it. We dived into a waterfall together, and we were fished out by a girl called Misty- the Cerulean City gym leader, one of my travelling partners and one of my best friends too" He smiled as he spoke of Misty.

Serena smiled as he gave an account of the beginning of his journey. He still bore traces of such rashness. Ash always had the habit of plunging into everything head on.

"We er, 'borrowed' her bike and I rushed towards Viridian City at top speed to get Pikachu to the Pokemon Centre. By that time, the Spearow had caught up with us, and were chasing us. It had also started raining. I lost my balance and Pikachu and I fell off the bike. I stepped in between Pikachu and the Spearow, trying to protect it while asking it to return to its PokeBall. That was when Pikachu used a Thunder attack against the Spearow and scared them away" he said.

Serena continued listening with rapt attention, with an expression of half-admiration and half-shock. She was beginning to see how they developed such a close bond.

"Soon, the storm cleared, and a rainbow appeared. Pikachu and I looked up, to see a gold Pokemon flying past the rainbow. My PokeDex couldn't identify the Pokemon. It was much later in my travels, when I had gone to Ecruteak City in Johto that I learned that the Pokemon we saw was Ho-oh- the legendary Pokemon" Ash said, completing his reminiscence.

"You saw a legendary Pokemon?!" Serena asked in surprise.

"Yeah. And it wasn't the last time either. We saw Ho-oh again when we decided to go to the Hoenn region after the Silver Conference, and again after our travels in Hoenn." Ash replied.

"That's incredible!" Serena exclaimed in awe. "You both have seen a lot together haven't you? No wonder you both share such a close bond. I wish we both could see so much stuff together too and…" her voice trailed off. She realized she had spoken a little too much.

"Don't worry Serena. I'm sure we'll see lots of different Pokemon and experience all kinds of stuff in our travels together" Ash said with a smile.

Serena breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I hope so. So you must have made plenty of friends in your travels right?"

Ash said, "Yeah! I made some great friends! There was Misty, I told you- who is the Cerulean City gym leader. She was quite hot-headed, but she had a heart of gold. And there was Brock- the Pewter City gym leader, who followed me along in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. He was a great guy, a terrific cook and had a lot of knowledge about Pokemon. And then there was May and Max- the two children of the gym leader of Petalburg City in Hoenn. May is currently trying to be a top coordinator. There was Iris and Cilan in Unova. And finally there was Dawn…" he paused.

He quickly continued, "She was one of my closest friends. We had to part ways because she had to go to Hoenn to pursue her dream of becoming top coordinator."

Serena realized that Ash was quite sad about having to leave all of them behind. She didn't know what to say at that point. She smiled, placing one hand over his arm.

"Here's your food sir; ma'am" the waiter said, laying the food on the table. "Do enjoy your meal" he said, bowing down. They began eating their food and, to Serena's surprise, Ash ate his food with fairly good etiquette rather than hogging it down like he usually did. He ate with deep concentration though, like he usually did. Serena always thought of that jokingly as something akin to meditation.

Once they finished their mean, they paid up and continued their shopping. They walked into a clothes shop to buy a dress for Serena's upcoming performance. They looked around for some dresses. Serena picked up a blue dress with white lace, and a dark red one. She asked, "Ash? Which one do you think suits me?"

Ash looked for a while and said, "You'd look great in both. But I think the red one would suit you better Serena"

Serena chose to try out the red one. She came out of the changing room and nervously asked, "So…how do I look?"

Ash gazed at her blankly, with his mouth slightly agape. "You…look amazing Serena!" he exclaimed, nervously.

"R-really?" Serena stammered. She made up her mind. If Ash liked it, then it meant that anyone would like it- such was her reasoning. She returned to the changing room, changed back to her customary top and skirt and made the purchase.

It was almost evening by the time they exited the mall. They took a walk on the promenade. As they reached the other side of the mall, they decided to sit down on one of the benches to watch the sunset.

"It is beautiful isn't it?" Serena asked, as they watched the sun lower into the horizon- bathing the bay with an orange hue. Cool winds blew from the sea towards the land. Several Wingull flew in flocks across the scene, filling the air with cries.

"Yeah. It sure is!" Ash replied.

Serena drew a deep breath and said, "To think. When the sun rises tomorrow, it will be my first step towards my dream. A dream that we found together."

Ash said, "I'm really happy for you Serena. I'm so glad that you and Fennekin found your dreams together"

Serena smiled, and turned towards Ash as she said, "No Ash. Not just me and Fennekin. You were part of it too."

"Huh?" Ash queried, surprised by the remark.

"Yes Ash. You always stood by me and supported me through everything, and gave me all the advice. Clemont and Bonnie were there too, and I'm thankful for that, but if it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have left home in the first place! I'd probably still be training for Rhyhorn Racing", she continued.

Ash smiled at her and said, "Don't mention it Serena. It was the least I could do. You supported me numerous times in my training and my gym battles too! After all, you were the one who helped me after I was defeated at the Santalune Gym; and you gave me the advice that made me win the Shalour Gym battle!"

Serena smiled and said, "I realize I didn't thank you enough for all that you've done. So I bought you a little something" She reached out into her backpack and fished out a silver object. She presented it to him with both her hands and said, "Here's something I thought you'd like"

Ash took it, and the gift had the desired effect on him. "It's a badge case!" he said, in surprise. Indeed it was. A silver badge case, which was lined with velvet on the inside. On the case was engraved the words, "Never give up til' its over- The Straw Hat Girl"

"Serena…" Ash said, his voice trailing off.

"That has become our little motto hasn't it? And Straw Hat Girl is what you referred to me all the time back in the summer camp" Serena said, blushing and smiling.

He reminisced back to the summer camp. It was after he had walked her out of the forest. The activities of the day were over. They lay down on the grass of the rolling hills of Pallet Town near Professor Oak's Lab watching the sunset.

"I'm telling you, I'll be the very best, like no one ever was! I'll be the Pokemon Master, and I'll prove that Gary wrong!" a young Ash said, in an agitated manner. Gary Oak, Professor Oak's grandson and his neighbour, had picked on him after he'd walked Serena out of the forest. The nerve of him! He remembered that exact moment when they walked out of the forest.

"And Ash Ketchum, as usual couldn't compete against Gary Oak even in this summer camp activity!" Gary had said with impunity, as he saw the young Ash and Serena walking out of the woods hand in hand

"Leave him alone!" Serena protested.

"Oh? Look who's gone to support Ash! I can't believe Ash actually found himself an admirer! Heh. Don't worry. You'll soon realize what sort of a loser Ash there really is! Until then, smell ya' later!" Gary continued, as he walked away.

It had bugged Ash the whole day continuing to that very moment, where he was gazing at the landscape with his friend.

"Don't worry about what he said Ash. I support you" Serena said, hesitatingly.

Ash smiled at her, "Thanks for supporting me back there. Hey. What's your name? You didn't tell me your name!"

"Oh! Why don't you guess?" she said, with a small giggle.

"Hmm" Ash thought for a while. "Giselle?" he asked, suggesting the first name that came in his mind.

"No! Try again!" Serena said, enjoying it.

"If you won't tell me your name, I'll just call you Straw Hat Girl" Ash said, mockingly threatening her.

"I still won't tell you my name!" Serena said, giggling.

"The Straw-Hat Girl" Ash whispered to himself, smiling as he remembered all that happened between them years ago, still looking at the badge case that Serena had given him. "How could I forget that?" he asked Serena.

Serena gave a weak smile and said in a nervous whisper, "There is another gift I want you to have Ash" She hesitated a little, but leaned forward and gave a quick kiss on Ash's cheek.

If he hadn't known better, he would've definitely thought it was his Charizard aiming a powerful Flamethrower attack on his cheek. The warmth pulsed out from his cheek and filled him completely. He stood rooted to the spot with an expression of blank surprise as Serena drew back smiling widely, her blush intensifying. Her bright blue eyes became brighter with elation. A slight breeze which carried the ambient sounds kept her long, honey-blonde hair fluttering slightly.

"Thanks for everything Ash. Hopefully, someday…" she trailed off.

Ash felt something change in him. He didn't know what it was just yet; just like he didn't know why his stomach felt light. Nor did he know why he felt like he wanted to keep seeing her smiling that way. If his heart was a room, and it was firmly sealed by a thick wooden door, one would've heard a deafening crack as the wood cracked. That door was weakening, and Serena was attempting to ram through it. He was filled with warmth and nostalgia.

"Serena…I…" Ash stammered.

"T-this was something I wanted to give you before I left Pallet Town, Ash. And I wanted to tell you my name too. I thought that we would definitely see each other again, but we didn't" she said, her face redder than the setting sun.

Ash continued looking at her with an expression of blank surprise. Serena beamed at him, and decided to relieve him of his confusion. "I think we better get going now. It's getting late. I had a great time with you Ash"

Ash replied half-heartedly, "Y-yeah. I guess so. I had a great time too Serena" For some reason, a small part of him wished that they could stay just a while longer. But he relented.

They walked on the promenade to the gates, the sky darkening in front of them as the sun sank lower and lower every minute. Ash was unusually silent; his hands in his pockets, during their walk back to the monorail station. The ride back to the Pokemon Centre went silently. He kept thinking of what happened earlier. And he couldn't stop thinking of Serena.

When they reached their accommodation, they saw Bonnie and all their Pokemon playing around, as Clemont sat on the desk, working on another of his inventions. Pikachu caught the sight of his trainer and exclaimed, "Pika pi!" as he ran towards him and climbed his usual perch on Ash's shoulder. The rest of Ash's Pokemon rushed towards him. News had broken out during his absence that he had gone to bring them gifts.

"Hey buddy! Had a great time?" Ash asked, petting Pikachu. "Hey guys! Had a good day?" There was a round chorus of all his Pokemon. Fennekin and Pancham rushed towards Serena, who stood beside the now busy Ash. Serena petted them both and looked up to see Bonnie looking at her expectedly. She gave a thumbs up and winked, to which Bonnie's eyes widened as she pumped her fist as if she had won a gym battle. Serena smiled as she saw the happiness of the little girl. She was indeed like her younger sister.

They recalled all their Pokemon, and walked towards the City Centre- where the Vow tree stood. People were already thronged around it; many giving various gifts to their Pokemon, and some just watching from behind. And there was the usual group of salesmen- selling various trinkets as last minute purchases, and the food stalls were doing brisk business too.

Ash called out his Pokemon and began handing out the treats to his Pokemon. Clemont and Serena called out theirs too and distributed the treats- much to the happiness of the Pokemon. They watched happily as their Pokemon ate their treats in joy. Ash and Serena looked at each other and smiled. This was the end of the eventful day- one that would be an iconic day in their lives; and almost as important to them as their first meeting in Pallet Town.


	4. Chapter 3- Serena's Debut

The sea breeze blew against her forlorn face which was half buried in her hands. She never felt more down in her life. Her one dream- her one ambition suffered a huge setback. She felt so determined just earlier that day to win her first Tripokelon, so confident when she stood there, in that same spot she was sitting at that moment; and now she felt lost and defeated.

"Where did I go wrong?" Serena thought to herself, as she thought about the events of the day again.

It was early in the morning. The sun had just risen and bathed Courmarine City in its warm light. Some stars were still visible in the sky, and the air carried the occasional cry of an early rising Fletchling or Pidgey, along with the sounds of the waves crashing against the concrete of the port. Serena stood on the pier, gazing out at the horizon. Today was the day she would take her first step towards her ambition- to become the Kalos Queen. It was the day of her first Performance. She could barely sleep the night before; brimming with excitement and anticipation. Her eyes burned with determination and confidence. Ash, Clemont and Bonnie were still sound asleep in the Pokemon Centre.

Serena called out her Fennekin and Pancham. She dropped her backpack and began walking towards the sea. She turned around and said to the two surprised Pokemon, "Fennekin, Pancham, today will be our big day- our first Tripokelon. All our practise and training will be put to the test today. We need to do great today!"

"Fen…fennekin! Cham…ch" Fennekin and Pancham replied, acknowledging the seriousness of the situation. The three of them wanted to do their very best in their stage debut. Then together, they went through a quick practise session. Serena didn't want anything to go wrong that day.

When the first crowds started appearing, she decided that it was time to return to the Pokemon Centre. Ash and the others were already awake and were freshening up. They had their breakfast soon, and left for the Courmarine Convention Centre- where the Showcase was to be held. The crowds were building up as the four waited outside for a friend of theirs.

"Hey Serena! Hey you guys! Sorry to keep you waiting!" came a yell from deep inside the crowd. The source was revealed soon enough. There came running Shauna- a friend they made in the Summer Camp, and Serena's competitor. Her Bulbasaur was following suit.

"Hey Shauna! So nice to see you again!" Serena said, her face brightening up as she greeted Shauna, who caught up to them. Fennekin, Bulbasaur and Pikachu exchanged niceties too.

"Yeah! How are you guys?" Shauna asked all of them.

"We're doing great! Thanks! How about you?" Serena replied.

"Bulbasaur and I are doing great! We practised a lot for this, and we're finally here! Our first Tripokelon. We're so excited!" Shauna replied, seeming like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Bulba bulba!" Bulbasaur chimed in.

"How about you Serena? Are you ready too?" Shauna asked, with her rivalry setting in.

"You bet I am!" Serena answered, the rivalry setting in her too.

"You better be! Because Bulbasaur and I are going to win this one!" Shauna said, in friendly banter.

"It won't be so easy!" Serena replied.

"Isn't it great to see such rivalry?" Clemont asked, as Bonnie, Ash and himself watched from the sidelines.

"Yeah. It sure is!" Ash said, smiling. It reminded him of his own friendly rivalry with Gary, and currently with Tierno.

The group, along with Shauna decided to enter the convention centre to allow the girls to start preparing for the showcase. The crowd had built up significantly in the meanwhile, and Serena's confidence was diminishing little by little. Ash, Clemont and Bonnie waited outside as the girls went to the changing rooms; and came out what seemed like an eternity later.

"Ash, how do I look?" Serena asked nervously.

"You look great Serena! You'll do great!" Ash replied with a smile.

Clemont said, "Hey we better go find ourselves some seats. There may not be many left!"

Ash said, "Yeah you're right. Let's go find some seats. Good luck Serena, and you too Shauna!"

Clemont and Bonnie wished the two participants luck as well before the three of them set off towards the direction the crowd was heading to.

"Fennekin, come on out!" Serena called out her Fennekin. "Fe…nekkin!" came the reply from the little fox. Serena bent down to the level of Fennekin and said, "Fennekin, it is almost time for our performance. Are you ready?"

"Fenne…kin!" came the gleeful reply. Serena smiled, and took up Fennekin in her arms, as she turned towards Shauna who was in the same pose with her Bulbasaur. She had just given a pep talk to her Bulbasaur as well.

"To think we are this close to our first Tripokelon!" Shauna said, excitedly.

"Yeah. I know right?" Serena said, swallowing the lump she felt in her throat. She was growing more nervous every passing minute. "I must stay calm" she kept thinking to herself.

Soon, the Tripokelon was under way. One by one, each of the performers left the backstage area and went towards the limelight. Each contestant looked prettier and more determined than the previous one. Serena's insecurity grew as performer after performer left the area to the stage. Finally, Shauna's turn came.

"Good luck Shauna! Good luck to you too Bulbasaur!" Serena said.

"Thanks Serena! Good luck to you and Fennekin too for your performance!" Shauna replied, giving Serena a grin. "Bulba-bulba!" cried out Bulbasaur. She then strengthened her resolve, and walked towards the curtains- towards the limelight.

Serena was left with the only two other participants backstage- a tall, magenta haired, vain, but prepared-looking lady with her Pumpkaboo, and another rather nervous participant with an equally nervous Furfrou. She took up Fennekin and gave it a final brush. She played around with one of the ribbons of her dress; which she thought was too long; so she snipped a part of it. Shauna's turn was over, and the vain-looking lady was called to walk on the catwalk.

If it weren't for the thunderous applause that the vain lady, Serena might not have been so intimidated. Until then, the response from the crowd was mostly temperate; but this lady got a huge response. She heard her name being called out. It was time to step up. She summoned every ounce of the remaining confidence she had and walked out on stage along the catwalk

Any hopes that she had of getting encouragement from Ash, Clemont and Bonnie were dismissed instantly. The crowd was a single dark entity; faceless, and to a great extent, unforgiving. She looked at the other two competitors, who had walked up the catwalk on the two sides before her. She took a deep breath and walked out towards the crowd. But that's where it went wrong. She tripped, and stumbled.

She managed to regain her footing quickly, but the damage was done- symbolized by the gasp of the crowd. No one paid attention to the Fennekin that was spinning in the air with a Flamethrower attack. Everyone paid attention to the trainer who tripped backwards…

"Why does the crowd have to be so unforgiving?" Serena thought to herself, as she saw the sun sinking down into the horizon; and the Wingull that were heading home. "Maybe Pokemon Performing isn't for me. Maybe I'm not destined to be Kalos Queen" she thought despairingly.

"Serena?" came a familiar voice from behind her.

It temporarily snapped her from her distressing thoughts. "Oh, Ash" she said tepidly, as he sat beside her.

"Hey. Don't dwell on it too much. There are other Tripokelons that you can participate in" Ash said gently.

"I don't know Ash. I messed up really bad back there didn't I? After all that training and excitement..." she replied, almost choking with tears.

"Serena, don't be so hard on yourself." Ash replied softly, as he placed one hand on her shoulder. "It was your first Performance after all. We never learn if we don't make mistakes do we? I was a pretty useless trainer too when I first started on my journey. The very first Gym battle I had ended in humiliation!" Ash said, with a slight laugh.

"Really?" Serena asked, slightly bemused.

"Yeah! I made plenty of mistakes! It was at Pewter City. Remember I told you about Brock? He was the gym leader. I sent out my Pidgeotto against his Geodude. And Pikachu against his Onyx!" Ash said earnestly. "Many of my battles were bad ones. And I lost control of my Charizard when it evolved. I made plenty of mistakes!"

"Sometimes, I just think back to then and wonder how I was so naïve. But all those failings helped me become a better trainer. No one succeeds in their first attempt Serena; and even if they do, there's no guarantee they will keep winning! You just have to try harder next time, and work on your weaknesses" Ash said, looking at the horizon.

Serena looked at him blankly.

"And it wasn't like your performance was bad! Your appeal round performance after that was fantastic! Everyone loved that flaming cage that Fennekin came up with and that finishing move with Pancham's Stone Edge circling you! Really. Don't blame yourself for stumbling back there. It was just that…the other girl Jasmine was better than you in the semi-finals round. You can always try better next time!" Ash said.

He got up, and smiled as he turned towards her and stretched out his hand. "Never give up til' it's over, Serena. Remember that?"

Serena continued to look at him blankly as she took his hand and got up. It reminded her yet again of that summer camp years ago; except this time, they didn't fall in an embrace. Along with her, her spirits rose too.

"I'll support you in your quest to be Kalos Queen no matter what. Just keep trying Serena. I know you can do well in Pokemon performances" Ash said to her.

"Thanks Ash. That really helped" Serena said meekly.

Ash gave a toothy grin and said, "You supported me numerous times in ou…er…my journey so far Serena. I still attribute that Santalune Gym victory to you. I don't think it would've been easy without you. This is the least I can do"

Serena blushed and smiled. "Fennekin, Pancham, come on out!"

"Fe-nekkin!" cried out the little fox. Serena picked it up and said, "Fennekin, we'll just train harder and try harder next time. And I won't make any mistakes again!" She petted her happy starter Pokemon and hugged it.

Ash gazed at the sight softly. And when they broke out of the embrace, he said, "Shall we head back to the Pokemon Centre? The others are waiting for you"

Serena smiled and nodded. She recalled her Fennekin and Pancham, and they walked back to the Pokemon Centre where they found Clemont, Bonnie and Shauna waiting for them at the lobby. Pikachu and Dedenne were playing a small game with each other and were running around. When they caught the sight of the two entering, they got up and went towards Serena.

"Serena, I'm really sorry for your loss today. You were great, except for that slip up" Clemont said.

"Serena you were awesome today! You'll win the next Tripokelon for sure!" Bonnie chimed in.

"Thanks for the encouragement guys! I know you will always be rooting for me" Serena replied. "Shauna, I'm sorry you didn't win either" she said, turning towards Shauna.

"Oh that's alright. We'll try harder and win the next one! Jessie and her Pumpkaboo sure are great aren't they?! To think Team Rocket had all this talent and they are trying to steal others' Pokemon instead!" Shauna said.

"Yeah. I hate to say it, but I must admit that Jessie's performance was fantastic! Credit where it is due" said Clemont.

"Hmm. Next time, I'll make sure I win!" Serena said, the fire back in her eyes.

"Er…can we have dinner now?" Ash asked softly.

"Pika Pika" Pikachu said in exasperation; and was joined in chorus by the others. Ash had the remarkable talent of getting hungry all the time.

They had their dinner, and eventually retired for the night. The next morning, the group and Shauna stood outside the Pokemon Centre.

"Okay guys. It is time for me and Bulbasaur to continue our journey. You guys are heading back to Lumiose City right?" Shauna inquired.

"Yeah. I'll have my fifth Gym battle there with Clemont!" Ash replied, putting an arm around Clemont.

"Good luck for your gym battle Ash; and you too Clemont. I'm sure you both will give it your all" Shauna said with a smile.

"Where are you heading to Shauna?" Serena inquired.

"Oh I'm just gonna stick around here for a while. Tierno and Trevor are coming over to Courmarine City soon, so we might just pay a visit to the Kalos Power Plant; if they allow tourists, and hang out a bit." Shauna replied.

"I see. Well see you around sometime! Hope we meet again soon; and good luck with your training!" Serena said.

"Thanks Serena. You too! Hope we meet again soon", Shauna replied.

The two girls embraced each other, as Fennekin and Bulbasaur shared their farewells as well. They then let go. Serena re-joined Ash and the others as they set off towards the Kalos Badlands; the shortest route to Lumiose City.

"Bye guys! Take care!" Shauna shouted after the group; waving farewell to them.

"Bye Shauna!" "Take Care!" "See you soon!" returned a group of voices to Shauna.


	5. Chapter 4- The Vaniville Festival

"We should reach the North Boulevard by afternoon" Clemont said at the breakfast table. The quartet were on their way to Lumiose City, and were currently nearing the end of an arid region known as the Kalos Badlands. For much of the distance, they could see the spires of the Kalos Power Plant looming high above the ground. And now, they could see the spires of the skyscrapers of the big city- competing with each other to touch the sky. The winner of that competition was visible in the middle of the pack- the Prism Tower, which also served as the gym.

The Kalos Power Plant used some advanced space technology to generate electricity; Clemont had told them a lot about the power plant and its method of functioning almost all the way till then. They had stood at the gates of the Power Plant, but were denied access by a guard who cited that there was an intrusion attempt by a group of people clad in weird orange suits and that the place was locked down for security purposes.

"So you both can finally have your gym battle. The battle that you both have been anticipating for such a long time! It is gonna be great!" Bonnie exclaimed.

Clemont smiled at his little sister and said, "It is going to be a great battle; that's for sure. But Ash, I have been thinking about something"

"What is it?" Ash asked

"Well. We have been travelling side by side for quite a long time now; and we have had many mock battles for training. I have also seen all your battle strategies; just like you have seen mine. As a Gym Leader, I believe that you have your right to train in private; you know, not show your hand to me" Clemont said.

"But I don't mind! I prefer battling head on anyway." Ash said.

"I don't feel it is right Ash. And besides, you know all my strategies as well. Don't you think it is a better idea if we parted ways for a few days to train for our battle? That way we could have a better battle, and it would be fair for both of us as we can think of some new strategies" Clemont said in a serious tone.

"I suppose you are right" Ash said, after thinking about it for a moment. "So I guess we'll have lunch together in Lumiose City and then part way. But where do we go after that?"

"You could come along with me to Vaniville Town. It isn't that far from Lumiose City! And there's the Vaniville Festival too!" Serena piped in.

"The Vaniville Festival?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. It is an annual festival we have in Vaniville Town. We have carnivals, plenty of food, Pokemon Battles, showcases and loads of other stuff. It will be really fun!" Serena said.

"Great! And you can help Ash with his training in the meanwhile too!" Bonnie added, almost as excited herself as Serena was about the proposition. "You will right, Serena?" Bonnie asked her with a wink.

"Of course! W-why wouldn't I?" Serena stammered and glared at Bonnie- who was grinning ear to ear again.

"That's a great idea! So let's get to Lumiose City. But first, I need to attend to more pressing matters" Ash said, as he returned to wolfing his breakfast.

"Oh Ash. Food is always your first priority isn't it?" Bonnie said with mock exasperation.

"Well, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Ash answered, drawing laughter from the group.

Once they were done with breakfast, they set off, to leave the Badlands behind. When it was almost noon, they were on the final path leading towards Lumiose City. The wind blew strongly behind them, and the sun was taking its perch directly above them, scorching the already barren land with its heat. They drew closer to the concrete jungle- which seemed to grow larger and larger with each step the group took towards the big city. At last, they reached the gates.

Clemont and Bonnie took a deep breath. "The smell of home, and the city." Clemont said. "Come on guys, let's head to the Pokemon Centre." He led them to the North Boulevard Pokemon Centre. When they finished their early lunch, Clemont walked them to the gate leading to Route 4, which went towards Santalune City. It was time for the group to part ways temporarily.

"Take care Ash. I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon. We can have our Gym battle then. How about we set it for some time next week? We'll have a whole week to train for the Gym battle. The rules are standard by the way- a three on three battle, with only the challenger being allowed to substitute Pokemon" Clemont said.

"Sounds great! Let's make this battle a great one!" Ash said.

"I agree. Let's give it our very best" Clemont said, as the two clasped their hands and shared a quick embrace.

"I can't wait to see the battle! It will be great!" Bonnie piped in excitedly.

"Yeah. Both of you are such great friends, and you've both known each other for quite some time now. It would be the best battle we'd ever see!" Serena joined in.

With that, they bid adieu, and Ash and Serena set off through the gates of Lumiose City out into the flowery avenues of Route 4. Serena projected that they would reach Aquacorde Town before sunset; and they would reach Vaniville Town before it turned dark. They chatted about various topics along the way- ranging from various parts of Ash's previous travels to how great their current travels were.

They eventually reached Aquacorde Town just as the evening was setting in, and the sun was slowly retiring towards the horizon. They stopped for tea and snacks at the Aqua Café- one of the most well-known cafes in Aquacorde Town. At the end of it, they stood at the gates of the town.

The two of them marvelled the landscape- which had an orange tinge due to the sunset. Lush green hills rose up towards the sky, and in the valley in front of it lay a walled township.

"Vaniville Town" Serena said, almost lovingly. "Home"

Ash looked at her; and couldn't help but smile. Her long honey-blonde hair was gently fluttering in the breeze; the sunset shone off her bright, crystal like cerulean eyes. Ever since the day they went shopping, he felt differently about Serena. He had travelled with girls before, but he never felt the way he did when he was around her. He shook his head and tried to distract himself.

He felt a slight push, and heard her voice, "Race you down to the town! Whoever arrives last is a rotten Exeggcute!" along with a laugh that was, to his ears, a sound that made his stomach feel empty. "Perhaps I'm just hungry" Ash thought to himself, as he looked around him.

"Pika pika!" Serena was halfway towards the gate when she heard that sound that seemed to come closer at a rapid pace. She turned around to see the source of the sound- Pikachu perched on Ash, who was sliding down the hill on a wood board which he found lying near a tree. He was an expert at wood sledding- that having been one of his favourite pastimes back home at the rolling hills of Pallet Town.

"See you at the gates, rotten Exeggcute!" Ash called out, laughing.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Serena replied as Ash overtook her with ease. Very soon, they were at the gates of Vaniville Town- panting and laughing.

"Ash Ketchum that was so not right!" Serena said in mock anger.

"You never said that we had to run down specifically. And besides, you got a head start!" Ash argued with a laugh.

"Hmph. I'm not going to help you with your training then!" Serena pouted and looked away.

Ash patted her shoulder and said, "Alright. You win. Happy now?"

Serena glanced at him with one eye and said, "Good."

They entered the serene and quaint town. The last rays of light from the setting sun were now obscured. They made their way across the cobbled streets- passing by various quaint houses with lights glowing from their windows. Serena ran forward at the end of one street and entered a gate, and crouched to pet a Rhyhorn.

"How are you Rhyhorn? Did you miss me?" she asked as she petted the rhinocerous Pokemon. It gave a low, happy growl in return. Serena smiled at it, got up and turned towards the gate to see Ash quickly looking away from her and Rhyhorn; and shifting his gaze towards the house instead. She blushed slightly and called out, "Hey Ash, this is it."

Ash walked into the compound, and stopped beside her. "Welcome to my home Ash" she said softly. She then opened the door and shouted out, "Hello mom! Surprise!" Before a reply came from Grace, a Fletchling flew from up the stairs and perched itself atop Serena's head and sang out what it considered a welcome. Serena laughed slightly and said, "Yeah I missed you too Fletchling!" while trying to look up to the tiny robin.

Grace walked in from the kitchen. Serena ran towards her mother and embraced her. "Oh hello Serena!" she said, returning the warm embrace. "And hello Ash and Pikachu!" she said aloud, looking at the doorway- where Ash stood with Pikachu perched on his shoulder as always. "When did you both get here? And where's Clemont and Bonnie?" Grace asked as they withdrew from their embrace.

"We just got here mom. Clemont and Bonnie stayed back at Lumiose City. Clemont wanted to part ways temporarily to prepare for the gym battle against Ash. So we decided to come here since it is not too far from Lumiose" Serena answered.

"Oh I see. Alright. Why don't you show Ash to the guest room Serena? You both must be tired. Why don't you go freshen up? Dinner will be ready soon!"

"Sure mom!" Serena replied. "Ash, follow me" She took him up the stairs and showed him to the guest room. It was minimally, but tastefully furnished. Ash lay his backpack down on the bedside.

"It's a really nice home you have Serena" he commented.

Serena blushed slightly and replied, "Thanks Ash."

It wasn't long before they were called down for dinner by Grace. She cooked a wonderful dinner for the two of them. Ash was the happiest person as he dug into his dinner. "This food is amazing! Now I see where you got your cooking skills from, Serena!" he exclaimed.

"Thanks Ash. I'm glad you like it" Grace replied with a kind smile. Serena mirrored her mother's expression at the same comment. "So I take it you managed to win your gym battle at Courmarine City, Ash?" Grace inquired.

"Yes Mrs Yvonne. I did! Here's the badge" he said, pulling out his silver badge case from his jacket pocket and showing his badge collection. Serena's smile lingered at the sight. "So he liked the gift I gave him" she thought to herself.

"That's great! So you now have four badges! You must be quite the trainer!" Grace said, in awe.

Ash laughed slightly and scratched his cheek as he replied, "Thanks Mrs. Yvonne"

"How about you Serena? How did your first performance go?" Grace asked Serena.

"Oh. I didn't manage to do too well. I was too nervous and I tripped." Serena said with disappointment.

"Oh. Never mind, my dear. No one wins on the first try. You know your mistakes, now you can always try to improve on it and do better next time!" Grace replied, putting a hand on Serena's shoulder. "So where did you both first meet?" she asked.

Ash and Serena exchanged glances. They seemed to discuss with each other as to who was to tell the story. The silent discussion concluded that Serena was the chosen one to narrate the story.

"Mom, do you remember the time you sent me to the Summer Camp in Pallet Town?" Serena asked.

"Yeah of course I do!" her mother answered.

"We met there. I had accidentally wandered off, and I got lost in the woods. I was quite scared, and a wild Poliwag startled me and I fell down. Then Ash came, helped me get up and led me back to the camp" Serena answered, smiling at the memory.

"Aww that's so sweet! So that's why you didn't complain about the camp at all when I picked you up after it! Do you remember how you couldn't stop complaining about it when I was taking you there?" Grace asked.

"Mom!" Serena protested, blushing so much that she resembled one of the roses that were in a vase at the centre of the table.

Grace laughed slightly; and they ate the rest of their meal in silence. They retired for the day after a cup of hot chocolate that Grace made for them.

Grace was surprised to see her daughter fully dressed at the dining table early the next day for breakfast. It had been practise for her to wake Serena with Fletchling every morning as she usually slept until late. Ash and Serena were both done with breakfast quite soon.

"Right. Now for some training!" Ash said. Pikachu took its usual perch on his shoulder as it said in the affirmative, "Pika-chu!"

"I know a great place where we can train Ash. I'll take you there" Serena said.

"Great! Thanks so much Serena!" Ash replied.

"Mom, Ash and I are going out for his training! We'll be back for lunch, and then we'll go for more training!" Serena called out to her mother.

"Okay. Be sure to get home before dark at the end!" came the reply, as they set off towards the open field where Serena usually practised riding a Rhyhorn. When they reached the field, Ash called out all his Pokemon; and had, by that time, gotten accustomed to falling backwards and having his vision blacked out whenever he called out the perpetrator- Goomy.

"Alright Goomy! I like you too! Now it is time for training!" Ash's muffled voice rang out until he finally managed to get Goomy off his face. Serena laughed at the sight.

"Let's see if you are still laughing after this" muttered Ash. "Goomy, don't you want to show how much you like Serena too?" he asked mischievously.

A delighted Goomy replied in the affirmative, and flew at the face of Serena, whose laughter instantly mixed with cries of protest as Goomy sucked on her ear, as it loved doing. Ash took his turn to laugh. His Pokemon meanwhile watched on, perplexed.

Finally when Goomy was done showing affection to the two trainers, Ash began his pep talk- sounding like a military general would before a skirmish. "Alright guys. It is almost time for our fifth Gym battle against Clemont. This will be a three on three battle, so let's give it our best shot and let's train hard and win the fifth badge!"

A chorus of affirmative responses came from his Pokemon, as they began their training.

It had become a routine of sorts for four days. They would finish their breakfast, and immediately head to the field. They would train till lunchtime, with breaks in between during which they chatted with each other. Then they would go back to Serena's house for lunch, and return for another session of training before they went home at sundown. Each day, they saw more stalls being put in place for the festival.

It was the night of the fifth day- the night of the Vaniville Festival. The full moon glowed high up in the sky, and the constellations twinkled brightly. The open field where they trained now had various food stalls. The citizens of Vaniville Town thronged the field, and the air was filled with the happy chatter and laughter of the people.

There was a Rhyhorn Race earlier- with Grace winning it flat. There was no competition for the former Kalos Rhyhorn Racing champion. The battles and the mini-showcases were yet to begin.

"This festival is so great!" Ash said with his hands carrying more food than one would expect.

"A long time back, this used to be a harvest festival. Vaniville Town was a village of farmers you see, and the people would celebrate their hard work each year when they reaped the harvest of crops. Of course, not many people practise agriculture here anymore, but the festival goes on nevertheless" Grace explained.

"Wow. This place has so much history behind it!" Ash inquired. Serena and Grace smiled at that comment. But soon, Ash's impatience got the better of him and he asked, "So…when are the battle rounds?"

Grace chuckled at the question and said, "Soon Ash. Very soon"

The announcer then called out to all the people and said, "Citizens of Vaniville Town! It is time for the showcases! Let's give a hand to all the participants- especially for our Serena who has carved a name for herself with her Pokevision videos and her performance in Courmarine City!"

There was round applause, as well-dressed ladies started performing showcases in groups of three. Unlike the official Showcases, this seemed more of a team effort than an individual one. Serena however got the distinction of being the only one to perform. She amazed the crowd with the performance she put up in Courmarine City- with slight modifications.

At the end of the showcases, Serena ran up to Ash and her mother. "Serena you were amazing! I have no doubt that you will do really well!" Grace said.

"Really? Thanks mom!" Serena said brightly. Once again, Ash couldn't help but to admire her beauty as her face shone in the moonlight.

"You were great Serena" Ash said with a smile.

"T-thanks Ash" Serena said, blushing slightly and clenching her arms in front of her.

"And now, for the battle rounds!" the announcer called out. "Let's give a warm welcome to one of our guests present here today- Ash Ketchum! Coming from Kanto, he has taken Kalos by storm- beating four gyms already! We are going to see some crackers of battles my friends!"

One by one, the battles happened. There was a nail-biter between a Vivillon and a Bunnelby. There was another entertainer between a Fletchling and a Panpour- both of which belonged to one of the Showcase performers earlier. The battle was a very interesting mix between Performances and battling. Both Pokemon exuded grace and style with each attack.

Ash dazzled the crowd with his battling skills, beating several people with little effort. In the audience, a boy with a Treecko perched on his shoulders watching in adulation and occasionally took down some notes. The finals was a two on two battle between Ash and one of the citizens of Vaniville Town named Lucius. He was a trainer who reached the top 8 of the Kalos League years ago. Ash won the cracker of a battle against his Pyroar and Chesnaught with his Frogadier and Fletchinder.

The people of Vaniville Town were thoroughly entertained by the battle, and showered praise on both the trainers.

"That was some fantastic battling Ash!" Grace exclaimed when he re-joined them.

"Yeah. It was simply amazing. Everyone loved it!" Serena exclaimed with equal excitement.

"Thanks" Ash said, smiling.

"A-ash?" a stammering voice called out near him. He turned to see a small boy with a Treecko.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"T-that was some fantastic battling. C-can I have your autograph?" he asked, giving out his notebook.

"My autograph?" Ash asked, perplexed.

"Yes. I-I first watched your battle against Tyson in the Ever Grande Conference; and then your battles at the Lily of the Valley Conference. I had never seen such battling before- especially the way you beat Tobias's Darkrai and Latios!" he answered. "You are my idol" If I wasn't sick, I would've watched your matches at the Unova League too!

Ash continued looking at him in a perplexed manner.

"I want to become a Pokemon Trainer too. But…I get tensed up when I see great trainers like you. What if I never make it to your level? What if I fail?" he asked nervously.

Ash smiled at that and bent to his level. He laid one hand on his shoulder and said, "Hey. Everyone starts out bad. I was a newbie at one point too. What matters is that you should work hard, and never give up. Even in situations where you feel you can never win, there's always a way out. You just need to keep your calm and do your best" He petted the Treecko and added, "Always trust your Pokemon. And never try to be like someone. You are unique. What's your name?"

"Brandon" the boy answered.

"Brandon. You are a unique trainer. Don't try to be like Diantha, or me or anyone else. You have your own style. What you need to do is find that style, and master it with your Pokemon. And you can be like me; if not better" Ash said with a grin. "Understand?"

"Yes Ash. But can I still have your autograph in my notebook? You are my inspiration" Brandon asked.

"Sure I guess" Ash said, and signed the front page of his notebook much to the joy of the little boy.

"Thanks Ash! I will treasure it and carry it with me along my journey later on. I really hope I can see you again someday" he said.

"I hope to see you too. And on that day, I hope to see a really strong trainer!" Ash said, patting him lightly on the shoulder as he got up. Serena watched the ordeal with a smile. The boy then bade goodbye to Ash and walked away towards one of the houses.

It was the evening of the sixth day. Ash stood leaning against the fence of the field, watching the dipping sun and the landscape. Serena walked up beside him, and leaned on the fence herself.

"Vaniville Town reminds me of home in many ways" Ash said, not shifting his gaze.

"Hmm" Serena said, with a smile. "Ash? Is something troubling you?" she inquired; seeing his blank gaze.

Pikachu climbed down from its trainer's shoulders and sat below.

"Yeah. It is just that Goomy isn't strong enough to battle. And while I have no doubt that Fletchinder, Frogadier and Hawlucha will give it their all, they all have a type disadvantage against Electric types. Even Pikachu doesn't exactly have an advantage against Electric types." Ash replied. "As such, it makes sense to use Pikachu and Hawlucha. Hawlucha would be useful because of its Fighting type. But I wish Goomy was stronger so I could use it as my third Pokemon. Frogadier or Fletchinder won't be the best choices."

"Don't worry Ash. You have trained hard. I'm sure you can manage" Serena said, reassuringly. "How about we have a practise battle? You can test your strategies and use this as a final rehearsal of sorts"

Ash turned to look at her; and once again felt the same feeling he felt for quite some time after that day in Courmarine City. Yet again he felt as if a storm brewed inside him with every gentle flutter of her hair. And again he felt his stomach lurch oddly. "Really? Thanks a lot Serena!" Ash said softly, his face brightening. He continued, "You have really helped me a lot. I can't thank you enough"

Serena smiled and said, "It's nothing. I'm just repaying for all those times you helped me"

Unbeknown to them, Grace watched the two from the other side of the fence with a smile. "I knew there was something more between those two" she thought to herself. She looked for a little longer till she saw them turn towards each other. She then decided that it was time for her to go back and leave the two. She took one last glance in their direction, smiled and walked away.

Ash and Serena took their places- facing each other for the first time. Serena called out Fennekin, and Ash called out Goomy. "You move first, Serena" Ash said.

"Thanks Ash!" Serena said, accepting the courtesy. Fennekin! Use Flamethrower!" Fennekin shot out flames towards Goomy.

"Goomy, use Bide!" Ash commanded. Goomy tried to stand its ground, but the hit of the Flamethrower pushed it backwards.

"Goomy! Are you okay?" Ash inquired. It stood upright again in reply. "Great. Now use Muddy Water!" Goomy sent a spiralling wave of brown water against Fennekin.

"Fennekin! Dodge it and use Scratch!" Serena commanded. Fennekin's superior speed allowed it to run around the wave and towards Goomy at full speed.

"Goomy! Use Bide!" Ash commanded once again. Goomy stood its ground, and took a direct hit from Fennekin. It continued standing its ground- taking attack after attack.

And then Goomy glowed white. Ash and Serena both watched Goomy evolve- awestruck. Goomy was engulfed by the white glow, and a Sliggoo emerged from the same glow.

"Goomy…" Serena said, in awe.

"Has evolved into Sliggoo!" Ash continued, with equal awe, and a measure of relief. He took his Pokedex, and pointed it at Sliggoo.

"Sliggoo. The Soft Tissue Pokemon. Sliggoo excretes a sticky liquid that is highly corrosive to drive away opponents. It uses its horns as a radar system- which can sense sounds and detect smells. Sliggoo also cannot see anything, since its eyes devolved"

"Well Ash, there's your trump card. A surprise for Clemont" Serena said, walking closer to him and Sliggoo. "Now you don't have to worry about much. Also, Sliggoo is a Dragon type! Electric type attacks have reduced effect against it!"

"Yeah but Sliggoo cannot see anything" Ash said with slight disdain.

"Hmm" Serena said as she thought for a while. "Let's continue the battle and finish it. Maybe we will find some strategy?"

"Yeah. Let's continue" Ash said as they took their places once again.

"Fennekin! Use Hidden Power!" Serena commanded.

"Sliggoo! Try to dodge it!" Ash said- though Sliggoo was disoriented. It had just lost its eyesight, and it needed time to adjust. The move landed a direct hit.

"Sliggoo! Try and hear the movement. Or I will tell you which direction to attack alright?" Ash said.

"Sli…" it agreed, its voice sounding like a whine.

"Now use Muddy Water! Straight ahead!" Ash ordered. Sliggoo heard it, and also heard the gentle pat of Fennekin's paws on the ground. It unleashed the attack against it.

"Fennekin! Dodge it!" Serena commanded. However the attack landed a direct, and super effective hit.

"Fennekin! Are you okay?" Serena inquired worriedly. "Fenne-kin!" came the reply. "Good, now use Flamethrower!" she commanded again.

"Sliggoo, Flamethrower coming straight! Dodge left!" Sliggoo attempted to slither away, but it wasn't entirely successful. Sliggoo had taken some considerable damage from the whole battle so far.

"Now use Dragonbreath! Diagonally left!" Ash ordered. Sliggoo exhaled a pinkish flame towards Fennekin.

"Fennekin! Dodge it and use Hidden Power!" Serena commanded. Alas Fennekin couldn't dodge it, and took a direct hit- which severely weakened it after the damage it had taken.

"Fennekin! No!" Serena exclaimed. It tried its best to get up, and ended up getting engulfed in bright white light.

"Fennekin is evolving!" Ash exclaimed. "The second evolution of the day!" Both of them watched in awe as the white light revealed a Braixen.

"Fennekin! You evolved to a Braixen!" Serena said, running towards it. Ash petted Braixen as well.

"So this is the second interruption to our battle!" Ash said laughing. "Congratulations Serena. And you too Braixen" he said warmly.

"Brai-xen!" it said happily.

"It seems like this training session is benefitting both of us!" Serena said. "But we haven't yet found a strategy for your battle!"

"Hmm. Yeah. Guess I just have to come up with something on the spot" Ash said.

"No Ash. Let's finish the battle. I will try my best to think of something" Serena said and she walked back to take her place. Ash looked at her admiringly. "That girl is something else" he thought to himself, and he took his place.

At the end of the battle, Ash confidently said, "Looks like I'm ready for the battle!" "Thanks Serena. It is really because of you that I can confidently say that"

"No need to thank me. It is just your hard work that paid off" Serena said meekly, with a slight blush; looking away from him.

"I guess we better get going now" Ash said, looking at the hills again. The sun had almost sunk behind them, and the sky was darkening fast.

"Yeah. We should" Serena replied, as they recalled their Pokemon and returned to Serena's home.

"So you both will be going to Lumiose City tomorrow right?" Grace asked at the dinner table.

"Yes mom." Serena answered.

"So have you prepared well for the gym battle Ash?" Grace asked.

Ash was about to speak with the food still in his mouth, but he decided against it. He swallowed the food quickly, and replied, "Yeah. Serena really helped me out with my training!"

"Oh. That's nice to hear!" Grace replied with a smile. She then decided it was time for her to ask her daughter a question. "Serena, how did you know that Ash arrived at Kalos?"

Serena was half stunned by the question. She felt rather shy to say it in front of Ash. But she quickly composed herself and said, "Mom do you remember that day when you called me to watch the news about that rampaging Garchomp at Lumiose City?"

Grace thought a bit and replied, "Yeah?"

"When the camera showed a close-up of the boy, I recognized him instantly. It was Ash" Serena continued.

"Oh my! Was it really you, Ash?" Grace asked, with a look of great surprise.

"Yeah. It sure was!" Ash replied.

"That was pretty brave of you to go up the Prism Tower and try to calm that Garchomp. But it was really dangerous! And jumping down to save Pikachu was quite reckless!" Grace continued.

"Well you see, Pikachu and I are really the best of friends. Pikachu was my starter Pokemon, and we travelled around a lot together. I couldn't bear to see Pikachu fall to its death. So I jumped after it, hoping for a miracle. It was all thanks to that Blaziken that I'm still here!" Ash replied.

Grace muttered an inaudible exclamation. She then said aloud, "Well. Do be careful next time!"

"Don't worry. I will. Hopefully I never have to do that again; right buddy?" Ash said, turning to his best friend.

"Pika-chu!" came the reply from below the table.

They continued with their dinner. Grace grew surer and surer that her daughter had deeper feelings for Ash. She smiled as she saw Serena helping Ash by serving him a portion of the mashed potato, and quickly wiping off some food particles around Ash's mouth with a handkerchief. "Looks like being a great Pokemon Performer isn't your only dream" she thought to herself.

Soon after dinner, they retired for the night. It was their last night at Vaniville Town before they continued on their journey. It was a clear, full-moon night. The occasional cry of a Hoothoot was the only sound to pierce the otherwise deep silence. Pikachu slept deeply; but its trainer still lay awake. He was lost in thought. It was usual for him to stay awake the night before a gym battle due to excitement, and also due to thinking of various strategies.

But for once, his thoughts seemed to be dominated by something other than the strategies. For once, he stayed awake not because of excitement, but due to an unexplained feeling. The unexplained feeling that frequently grasped him ever since that day in Courmarine City- more specifically that time when Serena gifted him the silver badge case; the time when she gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Straw hat girl" he muttered to himself. He sighed, as he turned to see his closest friend Pikachu, who was sleeping soundly. "Good night buddy" he whispered, as he closed his eyes, with the hope that sleep would get the better of him soon- which it did, more out of sheer exhaustion than anything else.

The next day after breakfast, Ash and Serena stood at the doorway of her home. It was time for them to head to Lumiose City. They projected that they would arrive by the late afternoon; after stopping for lunch at Aquacorde Town.

"Good luck in your quest to be Kalos Queen, Serena" Grace said lovingly, embracing her daughter. "I'll be rooting for you"

"Thanks mom. I love you!" Serena said, as they broke out of the embrace.

Grace placed her hand gently on her cheek, and finally lay it on her shoulder. She then looked at Ash and said, "Good luck in your quest too Ash. I hope to see you go far in the league"

"Thank you Mrs. Yvonne. I won't disappoint!" he said, clenching his fist.

Grace smiled and said, "And do take good care of my daughter"

Serena looked at her in slight surprise. Ash said, "Don't worry. I will. I promise"

"Mom!" Serena whispered in protest.

"You didn't think I wouldn't notice did you? I am your mother after all!" Grace whispered in reply. "Good luck Serena!" she said aloud, winking at her.

She smiled at her mother. "First Bonnie, now Mom" she thought to herself, as she and Ash waved their farewell to Grace, and set off towards the gates of Vaniville Town.


	6. Chapter 5- The Electrifying Battle

It was around 3pm when they reached the Lumiose South Boulevard Pokemon Centre. They were greeted almost instantly by a bright-faced Bonnie. "Ash! Serena!" she exclaimed. She went on to give Serena a quick hug, and grabbed Ash's arm. They had informed her that they were on their way to Lumiose City.

"Hello Bonnie! Have you been waiting long?" Ash asked.

"Oh no. I had been waiting only for some twenty minutes or so. So Ash, are you ready for the big gym match?" she asked.

"You bet I am! Let's just let our Pokemon rest here for a while, and we are good to go!" Ash replied.

"Allow them to breathe Bonnie! They just arrived at Lumiose City!" Clemont said. He couldn't match Bonnie's excitement, and thus arrived at the doors to receive his close friends after a short delay.

"Clemont! Nice to see you again!" Ash said, pound hugging him.

Both Ash and Serena handed their Pokemon to Nurse Joy, and they waited at the lobby. Bonnie told them about how her brother had trained hard; while Serena made a mention of how hard Ash trained. "You are going to be in for a surprise Ash!" Bonnie said.

"Huh? What surprise?" Ash asked with a perplexed look.

"You'll see!" Bonnie replied, with a wink.

They continued talking animatedly. Bonnie told Ash and Serena about the new illuminations that were installed for the Prism Tower, along with the opening of the Le Bourbon revolving restaurant and a viewing deck at the top of the tower. Bonnie also mentioned that the new illuminations would be started was the next night, to which Serena and Ash showed excitement.

The bell rang, and Ash and Serena went to collect their Pokemon from the ever-smiling Nurse Joy. Clemont suggested that they have the gym battle the next day since it was soon to be sunset. Ash reluctantly agreed, and the group went to Clemont's house- which was adjacent to his father- Meyer's workshop. Meyer was out for the evening, as he often was. They took the opportunity to continue their conversations till they had their dinner.

Ash and Clemont decided that the girls should have the bedrooms for themselves, while they took to the living room. Ash took the sofa, while Clemont agreed to sleep on the floor. They stayed up till late- excited for the gym battle they were to have the next day.

"We'll make the gym battle tomorrow a great one Clemont!" Ash said.

"You bet we will. It will be a battle we will never forget! I promise you that" Clemont replied, sitting up.

They continued discussing about Pokemon and battling for another hour until their eyelids got too heavy for them to continue. The silence and stillness was only broken by the rhythmic ticking, and the hourly chimes of the grandfather clock in the hall.

After breakfast the next day, they set off towards the Prism Tower at the Centrico Plaza through the Vernal Avenue. They passed by a Stone Emporium- where various evolution stones lay on display- shining in the bright morning sun; the Boutique Couture, which had mannequins wearing the latest, trendiest clothes- along with their prohibitive price tags on display; two cafes, and a herb emporium as they drew closer to the Prism Tower.

The group eventually entered the lobby of the Prism Tower- which Ash was all too familiar with. Except this time, he wasn't greeted by the same robotic voice demanding four badges anymore. Instead, the elevator doors readily opened for them. The gym arena was in the top floor. Both Clemont and Ash had a fire burning in them and their friendship had, at least temporarily, evolved into an intense rivalry.

The elevator came to a smooth and silent halt. Clemont and Ash looked at each other, nodded to each other and walked out of the elevator side by side towards the well-lit gym arena.

"So Ash. Are you ready for our official gym match?"

"You bet I am!" Ash said, taking his place in the challenger's end of the arena. Clemont took his place at the gym leader's end of the arena, and Serena and Bonnie took their places at the viewers' balcony.

"Good luck Ash!" Serena called out; before she turned to see Bonnie, who gave her a sly look, in response to which she stammered, "A-and you too Clemont! Let's see a match we'll never forget!"

Ash and Clemont faced each other. "Don't expect me to go easy on you Ash! And I'm warning you I am quite tough! I'm not the fifth Gym leader of Kalos for nothing!" Clemont taunted.

"I don't expect you to. And I'm no less of a challenger!" Ash returned. Something seemed to have struck him. He looked around and inquired, "So where is the referee?"

"I'll be the referee!" Bonnie called out excitedly from the viewers' balcony, as she prepared to come down to the arena.

"No Bonnie! This isn't some practise match! You can't be the referee!" Clemont protested.

"Hmph. Whatever!" Bonnie said, pouting in disappointment.

"Now, now Bonnie. Never mind that. You can watch the match with me here" Serena said, putting a hand on Bonnie's shoulder with a warm smile. "In fact…" she said as she picked out her PokeBalls. "Braixen, Pancham! Come on out!"

"Wow! Your Fennekin evolved?!" Bonnie asked in wonder as the white flash revealed a Braixen; rather than the Fennekin she was so familiar with. "That's so awesome!"

Serena smiled at Bonnie. She then looked at her Pokemon and said, "I don't want you both to miss this match"

"That's a pretty good idea! No one would want to miss this match now, would they?!" came a baritone from behind.

"Dad! You're here! Are you going to watch the match too?" Bonnie asked in surprise.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Meyer replied. "And hello Serena! Glad to meet you again!"

"Great to meet you too sir!" Serena replied.

Meanwhile in the arena, Clemont's invention and his temporary replacement as the gym leader while he was away- Clembot had taken its place in the referee's area.

"Clembot, referee this battle!" Clemont commanded.

The Clembot spoke, "This match will be a standard 3 vs. 3 knockout battle. Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. Let the match begin!"

Clemont called out, "Bunnelby! I choose you!"

"Pikachu, I choose you buddy!" Ash commanded.

It drew parallels to the battle that Ash and Clemont had when they first met in Lumiose City. Ash started off by ordering a Thunderbolt.

"Bunnelby! Throw up some sand and protect yourself!" Clemont ordered.

It slammed its strong ears on the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust which neutralized the Thunderbolt.

"Pikachu! Use Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.

The electric rodent dashed towards Bunnelby at a deadly speed and connected directly with its midriff- landing a critical hit. Bunnelby was knocked far back, but it managed to land on its feet.

"Now use Double Slap!" Clemont ordered. Bunnelby rushed towards Pikachu, and slapped it with its powerful ears, knocking Pikachu back strongly. Pikachu, with all its battling experience recovered easily from such an attack. Clemont wore a smirk- a smirk of confidence. It was a smirk that Ash wore as well.

"Iron Tail!" commanded Ash.

Pikachu's tail glowed in response as it jumped and tried to make contact with Bunnelby.

"Stop the attack Bunnelby, and throw it aside!" Clemont called out.

Bunnelby used its ears to securely catch Pikachu's glowing tail. It then gave a heave, and threw Pikachu into the air.

"Now use Mud shot!" Clemont ordered. In reply, Bunnelby fired a Mud Shot at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out, very well knowing the effect if the Mud Shot made contact. However the Thunderbolt was easily dissipated by the Ground type attack, and it landed a direct, super-effective hit. Pikachu was knocked back further and it hit the ground with a thud.

"Pikachu! Can you get up?" Ash asked. Pikachu struggled a bit and managed to get up. "Great job!"

Clemont watched the bond between Ash and his Pokemon in deep admiration.

"Now Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash ordered.

Before Clemont or Bunnelby could react, Pikachu had hit its mark, sending Bunnelby into the air.

"Bunnelby! Mud Shot!" Clemont called out. Bunnelby managed to turn itself to an attacking position and fired a Mud Shot.

"Now Pikachu dodge and use Electro Ball!" Ash shouted out, to which Pikachu dodged the Mud Shot in a very fluid move which seemed like a Quick Attack. It then sprang up in the air and fired an Electro Ball at Bunnelby, which could do nothing more than helplessly stare as the ball of electrical discharge headed straight towards it.

"No! Bunnelby!" Clemont exclaimed as Bunnelby hit the ground with a loud thud. "Bunnelby! Please get up!" he pleaded as the dust cloud cleared. It struggled, but managed to get on its feet.

"What? No way!" Ash exclaimed.

"You see Ash, I learned a lot in my travels with you. And one of the main lessons I learned was to have faith in my Pokemon" Clemont said with a smug smile.

"That's all fine. I'm gonna finish this now" Ash replied with a smile. "Pikachu! Use Iron Tail!" Pikachu complied immediately, and jumped towards its opponent with its tail glowing.

"Bunnelby! Use Dig!" Clemont commanded instantly. A dust cloud ensued as Pikachu landed its attack. Both Clemont and Ash waited anxiously for the dust cloud to clear. When it did, all they saw was Pikachu standing on the ground on all fours, and a hole in the ground where Bunnelby was.

Clemont gave a smug grin, whereas Ash's face had a look of anxiety. "Pikachu, be careful! It could come out of anywhere!" Ash cautioned.

Pikachu poised itself as it turned around, straining its ears.

"Another thing I learned from you Ash, was to use an unconventional strategy" Clemont said, almost cunningly. "Bunnelby, use Mud Shot!" he called out.

To everyone's, except Clemont's surprise, Bunnelby burst out of the same hole that it dug into, and attacked Pikachu, which was caught flat-footed. It had expected to see Bunnelby appear out of anywhere but the same hole it dug in the first place. Pikachu was knocked off balance, and was thrown backwards. It rolled on the ground a bit before trying to get back on its feet.

"Pikachu! No!" Ash exclaimed as he watched in shock.

"Pikachu is un…" Clembot began.

"Not yet!" Ash cried out. Pikachu just managed to get back on its feet, as it sent out sparks from its electric sacs. "Pikachu. Can you still battle?" he asked.

"Pika!" came a short, determined reply.

"Awesome. Now use Thunderbolt!" he commanded.

"Bunnelby! Use Dig!" Clemont ordered. Yet again, Bunnelby managed to dodge the attack, and it dug into the ground.

"Pikachu, stay alert. And get ready to use Thunderbolt the moment Bunnelby comes out"

"Pika!" came a reply in the affirmative, as Pikachu closed its eyes, pricked its ears, and prepared to use Thunderbolt instantly if needed. There was silence for a while, until it heard a very gentle rumble. Its ears were sharp. In many of Ash's battles, it had to rely on its ears alone. Suddenly, Bunnelby broke out from behind Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Now! Behind you!" Ash shouted out. Pikachu gave the Thunderbolt all it could. The attack hit its mark. Although Bunnelby still stood on its feet, it was gently trembling; and seemed to have a difficulty in moving. Sparks flew around it every now and then.

"Oh no!" Clemont cried out.

"Bunnelby is paralyzed" Meyer said, seeing the perplexed look of the two girls. "That means it would find a great difficulty in moving"

In the arena, Ash now wore the smug smile, and Clemont wore the worried look. "Let's finish this Pikachu, Quick attack!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu surged forward at top speed, and knocked Bunnelby backwards. The impact of its fall kicked up a small dust cloud. But waiting for it to clear was unnecessary to know the outcome.

"Bunnelby is unable to battle" Clembot announced, once the dust cloud cleared up.

"Return Bunnelby. You did a great job" Clemont said gently, recalling his Pokemon. "Now, Heliolisk come on out!" The white flash revealed a menacing lizard-like Pokemon.

"Will the challenger substitute Pokemon?" Clembot inquired.

"Pikachu, return!" Ash commanded. "Take some rest buddy" he said affectionately. "Now, Hawlucha, I choose you!"

The white flash revealed the bird-like Pokemon in its signature stance- standing with its arms and wings outstretched, and its chest puffed out.

"Begin!" Clembot announced.

"Heliolisk! Use Thunderbolt!" Clemont ordered.

"Hawlucha, dodge!" Ash commanded. Hawlucha complied instantly and it easily dodged the Thunderbolt.

"Hawlucha has an advantage of superior speed" Ash said smugly. "Now, use Karate Chop!"

Hawlucha ran towards Heliolisk and attempted to use the move on it. But Heliolisk managed to dodge it.

"Heliolisk isn't any less in terms of speed either Ash" Clemont returned. "Now use Dragon Tail!" he commanded.

Heliolisk's tail glowed green and landed a direct hit on Hawlucha, knocking it backwards. It managed to stay grounded, however, and reacted instantly to Ash's command of High Jump Kick. It ran as fast as it could and landed a direct hit at the stunned Heliolisk which was just recovering its footing after the Dragon Tail. Heliolisk stumbled backwards and winced in pain.

"Heliolisk! Are you okay?" Clemont inquired. When he got an affirmative reply, he commanded, "Now use Thunderbolt!"

"Hawlucha, dodge and use Karate Chop!" Ash ordered. He hoped to seize an advantage by rushing Hawlucha close to Heliolisk while it was attacking.

"Always attacking head on huh Ash?" Clemont said with a sly look. "Heliolisk! Quick use Dragon Tail!"

Heliolisk instantly slammed Hawlucha into the air. It hadn't expected Heliolisk to interrupt its original attack and hit it.

"Hawlucha, recover and use Flying Press!" Ash commanded, attempting to make the most of the scenario.

Hawlucha spun around once to set its direction right, and moved into a Flying Press in a fluid motion. The Flying Press, much to Clemont's shock, landed a direct hit on the unprepared Heliolisk. Hawlucha drew aside panting in exhaustion; and so did Heliolisk- given the fact that it had taken a direct hit that was super effective against it.

"You forgot that I have unconventional strategies too, Clemont" Ash said with a smirk.

Clemont knew that Heliolisk couldn't take much more. He had to try and take out Hawlucha. "Hmm. Heliolisk, use Parabolic Charge!" he commanded.

"Hawlucha, finish it off with Karate Chop!" Ash commanded. Hawlucha jumped to dodge the Parabolic Charge, rushed towards Heliolisk and landed a hard Karate Chop on it. The lizard-like Pokemon could take no more. It fell aside. Hawlucha assumed its customary victory stance.

"Heliolisk is unable to battle! Hawlucha wins" Clembot called out.

"Hmm. Return Heliolisk. You put up a great fight" Clemont recalled his Heliolisk with a slightly disappointed look. "You really are a great trainer Ash" Clemont said, marvelling him.

"Thanks Clemont. You are putting up a great fight too!" Ash replied.

In the viewers' balcony, Bonnie said with a grin, "Now it is time for big brother's surprise" Serena smiled at her and continued looking on. The battle went on well for Ash so far. There was little cause for concern. And Ash had his own surprise in store- she knew that.

"But Ash, I'm not done. Now it is time for my surprise" Clemont said, pulling out a Pokeball. "Come on out!" he called out. The white flash was considerably large, and revealed a Luxray!

"Wow! Luxio evolved to Luxray!" Ash exclaimed.

Serena took out her Pokedex, and scanned Luxray. The entry sounded, "Luxray. The Gleam Eyes Pokemon. Luxray has the ability to see through walls clearly, and uses powerful physical Electric attacks"

"So this was the surprise you were talking about!" she said to Bonnie.

"Yep! That's right!" Bonnie replied, grinning ear to ear.

Back at the arena, the Clembot inquired, "Will the challenger substitute Pokemon?"

"No. I'll stick with Hawlucha" Ash said. He knew Hawlucha was too tired to battle whether he recalled it or not. He hoped he could at least land a hit or two.

"Battle begin!" Clembot announced.

"Luxray, Hawlucha is weak. Let's finish this. Use Discharge!" Clemont ordered.

"Hawlucha dodge it and use Flying Press!" Ash commanded. However, Hawlucha couldn't dodge the attack. Although the attack wasn't fully effective, Hawlucha was greatly weakened by the previous battle, and stayed grounded.

"That's it. Now Luxray, use Swift!" Clemont ordered.

Ash could only watch in silent dismay as the Swift landed a direct hit on Hawlucha, which had no more energy to dodge. Hawlucha collapsed on the ground without even landing a single hit.

"Hawlucha is unable to battle! Luxray wins!" Clembot announced.

"Return Hawlucha. You did great. Now take a good, long rest" Ash said, as he recalled the bird-like Flying/Fighting Pokemon. He then looked down and said, "Pikachu, can you still battle?"

"Pika!" came a confident reply. It had recovered a little bit after its exertions against Bunnelby.

"Then I choose you!" Ash commanded. Pikachu ran forward into the battlefield and stood prepared, with sparks flying off its cheeks. "Use Quick Attack!"

Pikachu set off at top speed and scored a direct hit on Luxray, which was knocked off balance, but kept its footing.

"Luxray, use Wild Charge!" Clemont ordered.

Luxray shrouded itself in electricity and rushed towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu dodge it and use Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu jumped up in the air, took aim at Luxray, and gave it a jolting Thunderbolt.

"Now use Wild Charge again!" Clemont ordered, seemingly unfazed by the fact that Luxray was getting hit by an attack.

Luxray simply charged forward, putting little effort to shroud itself in electricity as it used the charge from Pikachu's own attack and rushed against Pikachu, which was still in the air, making its way towards the ground.

"What? No way!" Ash exclaimed. "Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" he cried out desperately. But before Pikachu could stop its Thunderbolt and prepare to use Electro Ball, Luxray had hit its mark. Pikachu was thrown backwards. It tumbled and rolled, until it finally came to a stop a good distance away. It tried to get up, but the attacks had taken its toll. It fell back on the ground, fatigued.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Luxray wins!" Clembot announced.

Clemont went towards Pikachu since it was closer to him, and carried it back to Ash. Ash took Pikachu in his arms and said, "You did great buddy. You deserve a nice long rest now" and laid Pikachu down on the ground, leaning against his backpack. "Thanks Clemont. And that was a great move" he called out to Clemont, who was making his way back to his side of the arena.

"Thanks Ash! I learned that from you too. The way you converted attacks against you into opportunities- like the Rock Tomb climb in the Cyllage Gym, and using Pikachu's Iron Tail at the Shalour Gym. I learned a lot from you" Clemont said.

Ash clipped out his last PokeBall. He had only one Pokemon left to use. He turned to look at the viewers' balcony, to look at Serena. She stood leaning against the railing, and gave him an understanding nod. Ash smiled, nodded in return and turned to face Clemont. "Well Clemont, you surprised me with Luxray. Now it is my turn to surprise you"

"Go!" he called out. Clemont and Bonnie watched in suspense, whereas Ash and Serena watched coolly as the white light revealed a Sliggoo.

"Goomy evolved into Sliggoo!" Clemont exclaimed.

Bonnie looked up at Serena with a look of surprise. Serena said with a smile, "Ash and I trained together. That was when Fennekin and Goomy evolved together" Bonnie smiled at her and nodded as they both turned towards the arena again. She finally understood why Serena bore that enigmatic smile throughout the battle.

"Begin!" Clembot announced.

"Luxray, use Discharge!" Clemont commanded.

"Sliggoo! Dodge it!" Ash ordered. However, the Discharge hit Sliggoo straight. It had a far inferior speed compared to Luxray to successfully dodge the attack.

"Ash, Sliggoo is much slower than Luxray. And it is blind too!" Clemont said with a smirk.

"Sliggoo may be blind, but it can still hear things, and it can feel vibrations too. And besides, Electric attacks are weak against Dragon" Ash said. "Now Sliggoo, use Muddy Water!" he commanded.

Sliggoo kicked up a powerful Water attack combined with the dirt in the arena. The attack went hurtling towards Luxray.

"Luxray, dodge it and use Thunder Fang!" Clemont ordered, though in vain. Luxray was flat-footed since it couldn't decide whether to dodge from the left or the right. It finally decided to move right, however it was a split second too late. The attack landed a significantly strong hit, although the damage was dampened by the fact that Luxray had moved enough to not get hit directly.

"Luxray! Are you okay?" Clemont inquired. It shook off the water, but charged straight at Sliggoo. "Luxray!" Clemont called after it. It slammed at Sliggoo, knocking it heavily backwards. Red streaks glowed around Sliggoo, as its Attack and Defence stats were decreased.

"What was that?! Sliggoo! Are you okay?" Ash exclaimed.

"Is that…Superpower?" Clemont said in disbelief.

Sliggoo seemed to have taken quite a lot of damage from the attack, but it steadied itself. It replied to Ash's question in the affirmative, as it poised itself again.

"Great. Now use Dragon Breath!" Ash ordered.

"Dodge the attack Luxray!" Clemont ordered.

"To the left Sliggoo!" Ash cried out as Luxray moved to the left. He knew Sliggoo couldn't see. But it could hear, and he took advantage of that to help it. Sure enough, Sliggoo diverted its attack to the left, and hit Luxray. Luxray struggled a bit after bearing the brunt of the Dragon Breath, but managed to shake it off.

"Now Luxray, use Discharge!" Clemont commanded. Luxray complied. Again, the attack scored a direct, but slightly less effective hit on the helpless Sliggoo. It struggled to stay up after all the damage that it had taken, but managed to get itself to remain standing.

Ash knew he was running out of time. Even though Electric attacks were not very effective against Dragon types, he knew Sliggoo was severely damaged by the Superpower attack and could take only so much more. But Sliggoo was blind, and it didn't have a very powerful range of attacks. He decided it was time to use his trump card. "Sliggoo, use Dragon Breath again!" he commanded.

"Luxray, dodge!" Clemont ordered.

"To the right this time!" Ash cried out. Yet again, the Dragon Breath hit its mark.

Clemont watched in a mix of shock and admiration. Admiration of the fact that Ash did share a very close bond with his Pokemon, and he had seen that for himself that day; if all the other examples weren't enough. Few people could command a blind Pokemon with such expertise. But he watched in shock because of the sparks that flew around Luxray. The Dragon Breath seemed to have paralyzed Luxray.

"Now Sliggoo, use Muddy Water!" Ash ordered.

Sliggoo once again unleashed a wall of dirty water against Luxray. But Clemont was prepared. "Luxray, dodge to the right and finish it with Superpower!" he ordered, hoping that Luxray's paralysis wouldn't get the better of it.

Luxray managed to evade the attack, and charged towards Sliggoo at top speed.

"Let it come at you Sliggoo" Ash commanded, much to Clemont's surprise.

The others watched closely from above. Serena held a very tight grip on the railing of the balcony in suspense. Bonnie clenched her hands in a sort of prayer. Meyer watched on with a stone-faced expression. However they all shared two things in common- none of them blinked, and all of them knew that Luxray landing a hit would mean the end of the battle. Yet Ash commanded it to stand still.

But Ash knew exactly what he was doing. Clemont had fallen into his trap. Luxray was charging towards Sliggoo at a significant speed. When it was just inches away from making contact, Ash cried out, "Sliggoo! Now! Use Flail!"

Sliggoo knew which direction Luxray came from, and unleashed a Flail attack. It flailed madly, and landed direct hits on Luxray which was stopped in its tracks, and was eventually beaten backwards. It fell to the ground with a dull thud, desperately attempting to get back on its feet, fighting the paralysis and the fatigue.

"No way!" Clemont cried out in utter disbelief.

In the viewers' balcony, Bonnie mirrored her brother's expression. Serena relaxed her grip on the railings and smiled weakly after all the suspense. Meyer, however couldn't contain his surprise. "Incredible! Ash used some terrific strategy there! He knew that Sliggoo was blind and slow and therefore couldn't land a physical move such as Flail effectively otherwise, so he drew Luxray to attack it instead! And the reason the attack did so much damage is that Flail becomes more powerful if the user takes more damage! Incredible use of strategy by Ash!" he explained to Bonnie, who seemed perplexed. Serena maintained her enigmatic smile as she looked on at the arena.

Luxray finally managed to get on its feet after some great struggle. Its legs were still trembling, trying to keep it standing.

"Luxray, please try to stand!" Clemont said desperately. "I need to try and land another hit on Sliggoo" he thought. "Luxray, use Discharge one last time!" he called out.

Luxray emitted a few sparks, but couldn't move. Its paralysis and fatigue were getting the better of it every minute.

"Sliggoo, finish it off with Dragon Breath" Ash said. He quietly watched as the attack hit Luxray. That was the end of the match. Ash had won his fifth Kalos badge.

"Luxray is unable to battle. Sliggoo and the challenger win the match!" Clembot announced, as Luxray collapsed to the ground.

"Hmm. Return Luxray" Clemont said with a wry smile. Bonnie ran down towards Ash, Meyer followed and Serena walked coolly behind him.

"Ash that was such an amazing battle!" Bonnie said, jumping in excitement. "Ne ne ne!" Dedenne chimed in.

"That was really an amazing battle Ash! Your strategy of drawing Luxray in for that Flail attack was terrific!" Meyer praised.

Ash was about to reply. Then he caught Serena's eye. She was standing a little further back. She stood smiling at him silently. He returned her smile and said, "Thanks, but the strategy wasn't mine. It was Serena who suggested it to me. She deserves the credit"

There was little chance that he would forget that. He reminisced that moment- in the open field that was bathed in the sunset of the last day at Vaniville Town; the moment when they decided to continue the battle after the evolution of Fennekin and Goomy:

"Hmm. Yeah. Guess I just have to come up with something on the spot" Ash said.

"No Ash. Let's finish the battle. I will try my best to think of something" Serena said and she walked back to take her place. Ash looked at her admiringly. "That girl is something else" he thought to himself, and he took his place.

"Sliggoo! Use Muddy Water! Straight ahead!" Ash commanded. Sliggoo sent a spiralling wave of brown water once again towards Braixen.

"Braixen, dodge from the left and use Scratch!" Serena commanded. Braixen dodged the attack and rushed towards Sliggoo, landing a direct hit. Sliggoo had now taken serious damage throughout the battle. Just then, started thrashing about, hitting Braixen hard.

"That is Flail!" Ash exclaimed.

"Flail huh?" Serena queried, and looked into her PokeDex. After a few moments of silent thought she called out, "Hey Ash! I think I have an idea!"

Ash walked towards her with a look of surprise.

"Look. Flail gets stronger as the user Pokemon takes in more damage!" she said.

"Yeah. So what about it?" Ash asked.

"Sliggoo is a Dragon type right? And Electric attacks are weak against Dragon Pokemon right?" Serena asked, her blue, crystal-like eyes glinting.

"Yeah?" Ash asked, still curious and oblivious to her point of view.

"So you could use this to your advantage! The more damage it takes, the more powerful the attack is!" Serena replied.

"But Sliggoo is slow compared to Clemont's Pokemon. And Sliggoo cannot see. The Flail attack could be dodged quite easily" Ash replied.

"You always think of attacking head on don't you, Ash?" Serena asked with a smile. "Why not draw the Pokemon to attack Sliggoo instead?"

"Huh?" Ash queried.

"You could use Muddy Water, or the other attacks to draw Clemont's Pokemon to attack you with a contact move- like you did just now. And when it comes close enough, have Sliggoo use Flail" Serena said.

"But what if Clemont has his Pokemon use a special attack?" Ash asked.

"Then it isn't as effective. And you can use Dragon Breath or Muddy Water till then" Serena said.

Ash thought for a while. "This might just work!" he said. "Looks like I am ready for this battle. Thanks Serena. It is really because of you that I can confidently say that"

The strategy did work. He was the winner of the Voltage Badge using that strategy.

Clemont walked up to him and said, "Ash, you have beaten the Lumiose Gym. And as proof, I hand you the Voltage Badge. Congratulations" as he offered the gleaming badge. "I must say, it was a fantastic battle. And the way you commanded Sliggoo around with such ease shows how great a trainer you really are. Few people could command a blind Pokemon in that manner. I learned a lot from you in our journey together, and I learned a lot from this battle too"

"Thanks Clemont" Ash said warmly, accepting the badge. "Yeah! I've won a Voltage Badge!" Ash said aloud, showing the badge to an imaginary crowd. "Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu chorused. Sliggoo meanwhile jumped at its trainer. It may have been blind, but it could hear.

"Sliggoo alright! I understand you are happy. But please get off my face!" came a muffled voice; almost drowned out by the laughter of the others. He finally managed to get Sliggoo off his face- which was covered in slime. Clemont helped him get back up. He then turned to Serena and nervously said, "Once again, you have helped me with one of my gym battles. Thank you so much Serena"

"You won because of all your hard work Ash" Serena replied, blushing and turning slightly away.

Clemont, Bonnie and Meyer watched on. The two of them had grown really close after their travels. At the end Meyer broke the silence. He said, "So Ash, the next Gym is at Laverre City. Valerie is the Gym Leader. I'm pretty sure that it would be a really new experience for you!"

"Laverre City is also incredibly beautiful!" Bonnie spoke up excitedly.

"And, there's a PokeBall factory too!" Clemont said.

"Great. Then let's set off to Laverre City!" Ash said.

"Great job refereeing Clembot! Now back to your duties of the gym leader!" Clemont said, patting Clembot. But instead of an affirmative reply, its eyes turned red. "Unhandled exception at memory module 0x00000001. System critical stop. Creating crash memory…" That was the last intelligible word that they could make out. Ash, Serena and Bonnie walked a little distance away, anticipating what was going to happen. Meyer switched between looking at the three walking away, and at Clemont, who stood paralyzed with a shocked expression, with his hand around Clembot.

He didn't have to wait long to know why the three walked away though, as there was a phenomenal explosion. Meyer stood stunned, whereas Clemont gave a sigh of dismay. Both were blackened, and their hair frizzled out.

"There we go again" Bonnie said with a shrug.

"Back…to the…drawing board…" Clemont said weakly.

They all exited the Prism Tower. It was late in the evening and the street lamps were already glowing. They made their way through the Magenta Plaza. The most prominent building there was a deep crimson coloured building which bore the name "Lysandre Café". Meyer explained that it belonged to the multi-billionaire Lysandre- who was a descendent of the ancient monarchical family of Kalos; and was the owner of Lysandre Labs- which created the Holo Caster.

It was almost night-time when something struck Clemont. "Oh! I almost forgot! They are going to debut the new lighting of the Prism Tower tonight! We almost missed it!" With that, they all rushed back to the Centrico Plaza. The crowd was building up. The three Nurse Joy, the two Officer Jenny, Professor Sycamore and the general populace of Lumiose City all stood, looking at the Prism Tower with great expectations.

And then it began. A chorus of exclamations sounded out as lights with the full spectrum of colours made their way from the bottom of the tower to the top. The moment the first light hit the top, fireworks began. Everyone stood star-struck at the sight. The lights pulsated and swished around like a lava lamp. At the end of some ten minutes, the lights settled down, painting the Tower in white and yellow. The crowd began to dissipate across the radial lanes, as the group made their way down the Magenta Plaza once again.

They reached the home of Clemont, Bonnie and Meyer- where they had their dinner and eventually headed to bed. They were to continue their journey across Kalos the next day, with the next stop being Laverre City. Ash slept like a log; and so did Pikachu, tired after the day's exertions. Not a sound was to be heard that night.


	7. Chapter 6- The Pokemon Care Home

"Man. This route sure is beautiful!" Ash said, looking around him. It may have been a swamp, but the surrounding mangroves filtered the sunlight and gave the place an olive tinge that made it look surreal.

"The Laverre Nature Trail is supposed to be a protected area. And it was rated as the most beautiful path in Kalos Geographic magazine for quite some time!" Serena said, reading out some information from her multifunction device.

As they walked, they heard one of the bushes rustle. They stopped to look at it. From the bushes jumped out a green Pokemon which huge, yellow eyes. It was almost dancing around.

"It's a Treecko!" exclaimed Ash.

"A Treecko huh?" Serena said, pointing her PokeDex at it.

"Treecko. The Wood Gecko Pokemon. Treecko are able to climb smooth vertical walls and use their thick tail to attack opponents. Treecko never panic under any situation, and would rather fight even against a much bigger opponent; but would never concede even an inch of ground" the PokeDex sounded.

"It's so cute!" Bonnie cried out.

"Go on Serena. Try and catch it" Ash said.

"I will" she said, taking out a PokeBall. "Braixen, come on out!"

Treecko stood, glared at Braixen for a while, and to everyone's surprise- it started doing a jig around Braixen, almost singing, "Treecko, Treecko, Tree-cko!"

"Wow. That's one jolly Treecko!" Ash said.

"Treecko!" a female voice called out from afar. The source appeared soon- a young lady dressed in a white top and brown jeans came running towards them. She picked up Treecko when she reached them and said, "Treecko! There you are" She then turned towards the group and said, "I'm sorry if my Treecko caused any trouble to you. I'm Samantha"

"That's fine. I'm Ash, and this is my friend Pikachu" Ash introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Serena, and this is my Braixen" Serena said.

"I'm Clemont and this is my sister…" Clemont said, his voice trailing off towards the end. "Bonnie?" he asked, looking around. He then found her- kneeling in front of Samantha.

"You're a keeper! So please take care of my brother!" Bonnie said, proposing on her brother's behalf; much to his horror.

"A keeper?" Samantha asked, perplexed.

"Yes! You'll be perfect for him!" Bonnie said, to compound her brother's horror.

"Bonnie! I told you to stop this a million times!" Clemont exclaimed, unleashing his Aipom arm and picking up a protesting Bonnie.

"I was just trying to help you!" she protested.

"I told you I don't need that kind of help!" Clemont said, as Samantha looked on, even more perplexed than before.

"Here we go again" Serena said, leaning towards Ash.

"Yeah. They really are brother and sister!" Ash replied with a chuckle.

"Pika…" said Pikachu. "Not again" it intended to say.

"Anyway, does this Treecko belong to you?" Ash asked Samantha.

"Oh not really. You see, I am one of the caretakers of the Pokemon Care Home that is around here"

"Pokemon Care Home?" Ash and Serena asked together.

"Yeah. We take care of all abandoned Pokemon and unwanted eggs that are brought to us. Also, any trainer who finds Pokemon in need of help can bring them to us, and we take care of them. Why don't you come along with me? You could have lunch with us, and your Pokemon can have some fun too with the other Pokemon back at the Care Home" Samantha replied.

"Sure! We'd love to!" Serena said.

"That's great! Follow me then" Samantha said. "Come on Treecko!" she said, beckoning to Treecko. However it had other ideas. It climbed up and perched itself on the shoulder of Serena, tickling her a little with its tail. "Seems like Treecko wants to walk with you" Samantha said with a smile, as Serena gently tickled Treecko in return.

The group followed her for a small distance. They arrived at a large clearing dotted with small ponds, along with one large lake. There were all kinds of Pokemon everywhere- on the grass, in the water, sitting on the branches of the trees, flying in the sky. Attached to the clearing, a quaint cottage stood. In many ways, it resembled the Pokemon Lab maintained by Professor Oak back in Pallet Town, except it was surrounded by the mangroves of the swamp.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Care Home!" Samantha said as they passed the gates.

"This place is beautiful!" Bonnie said.

"Yeah! Look at all the Pokemon!" Clemont exclaimed. Pokemon of all sizes, shapes, types and colours were congregated in the premises. They entered the cottage and were greeted by the reception and a spacious lobby. The residential premises was further inside, according to Samantha. The cottage had a full view of the clearing- where all the Pokemon were. They could see the staff handing out food to the Pokemon as it was lunchtime. They filled the long troughs in various areas with food, and Pokemon huddled around the troughs to eat their fill. Some of the larger Pokemon, which sat in the shade of trees were given individual bowls.

The group decided to have their lunch too. They called out all their Pokemon- who were given their food, and sat on the table for lunch themselves. The dining table sat in a grande style veranda which commanded a view of the scene.

"To think, all these Pokemon were abandoned by their trainers. How horrible…" Ash said, looking at the various Pokemon.

"Oh no Ash! I'm so sorry. I should've been clearer" Samantha said, laughing slightly. "Not all these Pokemon are abandoned the way you think. Many of these Pokemon were brought here by trainers who couldn't afford to take care of them anymore, and simply felt that they would have a better life here than with them. Then there are also some wild Pokemon that come here sometimes for company. And we also have baby Pokemon which just hatch. We have an incubator facility for that. They are from eggs which were brought here by trainers who didn't want them. This is nobler, in my opinion than abandoning them in some forest" she continued.

"I see. That's actually very nice!" Ash said.

"Samantha. Why do some of the Pokemon, like that group consisting of that Pyroar, Exploud, Chesnaught, Sceptile and Infernape look so morose?" Serena asked.

"Oh I forgot to add the other category of Pokemon that are brought here. Their original trainers are deceased. They were brought here by the descendants of their trainers to live the rest of their lives peacefully with the company of other Pokemon just like them. I suppose they feel that the Pokemon can handle the depression better if they stayed along with others who faced a similar thing…" Samantha replied.

"Samantha. Doesn't all this cost money? How do you all run the show? Where's the income?" Clemont asked.

"We have some generous donors from Kalos and abroad- like Lysandre Labs, Devon Corp, Bank of Kalos, etc. Moreover, interested trainers may also adopt Pokemon. We get many exotic Pokemon from various regions- like Treecko here, and people are willing to pay to adopt the Pokemon they like. So we have more than enough to run this place well" Samantha replied.

"Doesn't it seem like Treecko is the happiest Pokemon here?" Bonnie asked as she saw Treecko jovially picking up a conversation with Pikachu.

"Treecko is probably the happiest Pokemon here, Bonnie. It just hatched not very long ago, and faced none of the problems that the other Pokemon had to go through. Not to say the other younger Pokemon aren't happy. But there are times when they feel depressed. It does get better the longer they stay here of course" Samantha said.

"Treecko reminds me a bit of…" Ash trailed off. "Hey I know!" he exclaimed. "Samantha. Do you have a Pokemon transporter here?"

"Of course. It is along with the phone" Samantha replied.

"May I use it?" he asked.

"Sure. Go right ahead" she replied, not quite understanding his intentions.

Ash made a quick phone-call, and picked a PokeBall from the Transporter's transceiver. He returned to the group and said, "Guys, I would like to introduce you to one of my old Pokemon. Come out Totodile!"

The white light revealed a small crocodile, which gave a wide grin and jumped to embrace its trainer. "Hey Totodile! Nice to meet you again. I missed you too!" he said.

"Totodile huh?" Serena said, scanning the Pokemon using her PokeDex.

"Totodile. The Big Jaw Pokemon. Its powerful jaws are capable of crushing anything. Trainers, beware" the PokeDex read.

"Isn't Totodile one of the starter Pokemon from the Johto region?" Clemont asked.

"Yep. That's right! I caught it in the Johto region" Ash said, letting down Totodile, which started performing its trademark dance near its old friend Pikachu.

"Wow. That's one jovial Pokemon" Bonnie said, as Totodile danced in front of their Pokemon.

Treecko walked up beside it, and stood staring at it. Totodile stopped its dance, and returned the stare. The two made eye contact for a while, after which Treecko broke into its jig. It danced around Totodile, almost singing a tune, "Treecko, Treecko, Tree-cko!" Totodile watched perplexedly at the Wood Gecko Pokemon for a couple of rounds. Then it let out a happy cry, and danced behind it- with the same jig singing, "Toto, Toto, To-to!"

"Well, they sure hit it off!" Serena said, laughing.

"Yeah they have!" Samantha said laughing, as the two danced their way out into the open field. They danced a couple of rounds, after which Treecko and Totodile rushed back in and pulled Pikachu into the circle, pulling it into the tune as well, "Pika, Pika, Pi-ka!" From afar where one couldn't hear their joyful tune, it would seem like they were performing some sort of ritual.

Ash and the others, and all the other Pokemon around them watched on. Hawlucha looked around it at its other partners, shrugged slightly and walked to the field to join the dancing circle. Chespin, sensing an opportunity to rile its sworn enemy, poked Pancham. It had its desired effect of riling Pancham, which retaliated by pushing Chespin to the ground.

"Not again you two! Break it up!" Clemont cried out.

Pikachu and Treecko saw the scuffle, and ran towards them. They said something, and pulled both Pancham and Chespin into the dancing circle- setting aside their enmity- at least temporarily.

"Wow. Looks like music and dance can really break up wars!" Serena said, watching the dancing circle which was growing in size. Bunnelby was next in deciding to join the circle. By then, they managed to draw the attention of most of the Pokemon in the field, including the morose ones. An Azumarill hesitated slightly, and then decided to join the circle. Soon more and more Pokemon joined in, making the circle grow bigger and bigger around one of the bigger ponds.

Inside the cottage, while their trainers watched the dancing circle in joy, Frogadier stepped beside Braixen. "Frog...froggie?" Frogadier asked, blushing. It meant, "Shall we dance too?" Braixen blushed slightly, looked at Ash and Serena, clutched its paws together shyly and politely refused. "Frog…" replied Frogadier, scratching the back of its head shyly as the two then stood side by side and continued watching the dance.

By then, a Lombre took its place on a rock in the centre of the circular pond. A Fletchling, which watched the spectacle till then saw its opportunity. It picked an Oran berry from the tree, held it in its beak and flew across and dropped the berry on the Lombre's head. The other Flying type Pokemon that watched it, including Ash's Fletchinder understood the intentions of the Fletchling, and flew to fetch some berries. They dropped the berries to the circling Pokemon, which threw the berries to the Lombre's head.

The Lombre was a bit surprised at first, but it soon realized what the others were trying to do. It braced itself and gave a wide smile as the mound of berries above its head grew in size. The group of the morose Pokemon watched on, their faces slightly brightening as they saw the happy spectacle. The Sceptile and the Chesnaught looked at each other, nodded, and cut down some berries and threw them to the circle, which in turn threw them towards Lombre's head, piling up more and more berries.

From afar, unbeknown to the Pokemon or the trainers, Team Rocket watched the spectacle with their binoculars.

"Look at all those Pokemon!" Jessie said gleefully.

"Look at all those paychecks!" James corrected her, with equal glee.

"If we gave the boss the whole bunch, we'd be rich!" Meowth joined in.

Not wanting to miss out the discussions, Wobbuffet added, "Wobbuffet!"

"Yes. We should steal all those Pokemon and take them to the boss! So here's the plan" Meowth said, then breaking into a whisper.

Back at the cottage, Ash, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie watched the sight in amazement, while Samantha and the other caretakers watched the spectacle with deep happiness. "We have never seen the Pokemon so happy before! Even the old Pokemon want to join in the fun! It is so nice to see them all so happy" Samantha said. One of the caretakers brought out a camera, and started snapping pictures of the scene and the happy Pokemon.

The circle stopped throwing the berries at the Lombre, which stood on the stone precariously now due to the weight of all the berries on its head. It resembled a fruit bowl at that moment, and all the Pokemon circling around it made the scene look like a carnival. Finally, Chespin got a bold, but goofy idea. It decided to be the crowning fruit of the berries. It braced itself and jumped as high as it could. But it only succeeded in performing what seemed like a half-baked Tackle attack. It knocked the Lombre off-balance and Chespin, Lombre and the mound of berries crashed down into the water.

The whole place was filled with the sound of peals of laughter of both human and Pokemon alike. Even the morose Pokemon couldn't help but laugh at the goofiness of Chespin's actions. The circle broke up, and the Pokemon started interacting and playing around with each other. The morose group stayed under the shade of the tree, watching the Pokemon chatter and play around with each other. They resembled a group of grandfathers who watched their grandkids run around a park.

"I must thank you all" Samantha said, almost crying out tears of joy. "Your Pokemon really succeeded in bringing a lot of joy to the Pokemon here. It really means a lot to us to see them so happy, when we work so hard to do so"

"Don't mention it Samantha. We are equally happy too!" Ash said.

They sat around the table with their afternoon tea a bit later, watching the scene and talking until they were interrupted by a huge net closing the area around the pond- where most of the Pokemon were congregated. Pokemon of all types were trapped in the net, and were being drawn up.

"What is this?!" exclaimed Samantha in horror.

A laugh came from above them and a female voice said, "This, is a call for you to Prepare for Trouble"

"Yes. And while you are at it, make it double!" a male voice said.

The group looked up to see a Meowth-themed hot air balloon, with extension turbines. It was fast making its way high above. "Team Rocket!" the four of them exclaimed.

"To protect the world from devastation" Jessie said, initiating the exchange with James.

"To unite all people within our nation" James continued.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love"

"To extend our reach to the stars above"

"Jessie!"

"James"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" chimed in Meowth

"Wobbuffet!" added Wobbuffet.

"Who are you people? Bring down the Pokemon now!" Samantha ordered.

"They are a bunch of bad guys who always steal others' Pokemon! Leave it to us. We'll get them" Ash explained. "Frogadier, use Water Pulse!" he ordered to his Frogadier, which along with Sliggoo, Braixen and Luxray managed to escape the net due to it never leaving the cottage. The Water Pulse, however, dissipated soon enough.

"What?" Ash asked in disbelief.

"Let me try. Braixen, use Flamethrower!" Serena commanded. But even the Flamethower was unable to reach the balloon. "No way!" she exclaimed.

"My turn. Luxray, use Discharge!" Clemont commanded. But even the electric attack of it was out of range.

Team Rocket sent peals of laughter- with them being out of range of any Pokemon attacks on the ground. The Sceptile, the Exploud and the other morose Pokemon tried attacking the balloon in vain.

"Thanks for all the Pokemon! Sayonara!" Jessie called out tauntingly.

"For once, it seems like we are finally going to succeed!" James said gleefully.

Meowth laughed as he looked down at the net and saw Treecko, Pikachu and some other Pokemon trying to bite through the net. "Heh! You think we didn't think of the fact that you would try to bite through the net?" he said. "That net is tougher than cables of steel! You would need some really powerful jaws to bite through that!"

Just as Meowth said that, Totodile made its way to the net strings. It braced itself, and bit the net with all the strength it could muster. Perhaps that was what Meowth meant by powerful jaws, as the net snapped. All the Pokemon were released into the air. The Flying type Pokemon tried to catch all the Pokemon they could and brought them safely to the ground. The morose Pokemon ran forth and caught all the Pokemon they could as well. The caretakers did the same. Ash caught his Pikachu, as his Hawlucha coolly glided to the ground and stood gracefully, with Pancham clutching it tightly from behind. Treecko hurtled towards the ground. Serena rushed towards it and caught it, much to its joy.

Totodile was caught by Fletchinder. It had a quick conversation with it, and rode on its back. It took aim at the burner of the balloon, and fired a Water Gun straight at it- damaging the burner and bringing the balloon crashing to the ground. Fletchinder brought it to the ground.

"What?! You again? I thought we had gotten rid of you long ago!" Jessie shouted at Totodile.

"Whatever it is, you will pay for this!" James said. "Come on Inkay!"

"Pumpkaboo! Come out!" Jessie called out. The white flashes revealed both Inkay and Pumpkaboo.

Treecko jumped off Serena's shoulder and stood by its friend's side. Treecko and Totodile shared a glance, nodded at each other, and turned to the battle again.

"Inkay, use Psybeam!" James ordered. "Pumpkaboo, use Shadow Ball!" Jessie ordered.

Totodile used its Water Gun against the Psybeam, neutralizing it; and Treecko used its tail to hit back the Shadow Ball. It then used Bullet Seed against Inkay, while Totodile ran towards Pumpkaboo and used Headbutt. The force of the Headbutt attack sent Pumpkaboo flying towards Inkay, and took it along with it to fall on Team Rocket.

"Urgh! Wobbuffet! Now it's your turn!" Jessie growled, pushing Wobbuffet forward.

Totodile fired a Water Gun attack at it, but Wobbuffet easily deflected the attack with Mirror Coat. Treecko ran forward and attempted to use Pound; but yet again Wobbuffet used Counter, damaging Treecko instead. Totodile got an idea looking at that, and conveyed it to Treecko, who agreed.

Totodile used Water Gun again. Wobbuffet used Mirror Coat. But just as it deflected the attack, it noticed Treecko running towards it at top speed. Treecko used the best Pound attack it could muster, knocking Wobbuffet back into Team Rocket.

"Why you little pest! I'll show you! Pumpkaboo!" Jessie snarled menacingly as she stood up quickly. But her menacing look was soon turned into a look of horror, as Totodile rushed straight at her hair and took a huge bite, clutching on to her hair. She desperately tried to shake it off to no avail. Finally, Totodile let go, taking a lot of her hair along with its jaws.

Jessie wailed in grief and horror as she saw a huge tuft of her hair in Totodile's mouth. She was left with little more than shoulder length hair at that point. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" she snarled, advancing at Totodile.

Ash stepped up and ordered, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Team Rocket simply watched in horror as the attack drew closer and closer to them, and for the umpteenth time, they were blasted off into the sky.

"I thought for once we were winning" Jessie said sadly.

"If it weren't for Happy Jaws, we might have actually made it" James added.

"Oh well. When have we ever won?" Meowth said with a shrug.

"Team Rocket is blasting off again!" came the chorus. "Wobbuffet!" a voice added.

Down below, Totodile and Treecko began circling about in their dance again as the other Pokemon cheered them. Ash picked up his old friend and hugged it. Treecko watched the sight in silence. Serena walked up to it, bent down, placed one hand on its head and said, "You were great Treecko!"

"Treecko!" it responded delightedly as it climbed up Serena's shoulder again. Soon, the place went back to routine, with one major difference from before- the Pokemon were much happier. Eventually, Ash and his friends decided that it was time to continue towards Laverre City. Ash bid farewell to his Totodile as he prepared to send it back to Professor Oak.

"Bye Totodile! You were awesome today. It was fun having you back; and I promise you I'll see you again soon" Ash said.

"Toto…" Totodile said, a bit sadly.

"There now Totodile, it isn't goodbye after all!" Clemont said.

"Yeah! We'll definitely see you again!" Bonnie said.

"Toto…" it said, turning to Treecko.

"Treecko…" it returned, equally sad that its friend was leaving.

Ash picked it up and gave it one last hug, before he recalled it and sent it back to Professor Oak. He then joined his friends in bidding farewell to Samantha and her colleagues as they set off towards the gates.

"Treecko!" Treecko called out and ran towards Serena. It then stood in front of her and said, "Treecko treecko"

"I think Treecko wants to join you in your travels Serena. So it wants to battle you now" Samantha said.

"Really? But is it okay? Don't you want Treecko to be here to cheer up the other Pokemon?" Serena asked.

"Treecko deserves to be happy too. After all, this Care Home is only to take care of the Pokemon until they find a new trainer- especially for the young ones like Treecko. Besides, all the Pokemon seem much happier after today; and I'm sure they won't forget this. Treecko wants to go with you Serena. Go on ahead" Samantha replied.

"Thanks Samantha!" Serena said, nodding. She then turned to Treecko and said, "So, let's battle!" Serena left her bag with Ash, and she took her place while Treecko took its place facing her.

"Braixen, come on out!" Serena called out. Braixen stood facing Treecko- much like they did when they first encountered. Except this time, Treecko held a steady gaze and didn't break into a dance.

Treecko moved first, and fired a Bullet Seed at Braixen.

"Braixen, use Flamethrower!" Serena commanded. Braixen took the twig from its tail, gave it a quick spin and lighted the tip of the twig with a flame and unleashed the powerful Fire attack. The Flamethrower easily burned through the Bullet Seed attack, and headed straight towards its opponent. However, Treecko quickly dodged it and used a Quick Attack on Braixen, knocking it backwards a bit.

"Braixen, now use Hidden Power!" Serena ordered.

It quickly regained its footing, and sent a Hidden Power attack hurtling towards Treecko, which tried to dodge- unsuccessfully. It winced in pain, but got back on its feet and braced itself.

"Now, use Scratch!" Serena commanded.

Braixen rushed towards Treecko in response. But just as it reached Treecko, it jumped high in the air and landed a Pound attack on Braixen, sending it stumbling backwards again. It then used Bullet Seed.

"Braixen! Use Flamethrower again!" Serena shouted out.

Braixen complied, burning the attack once again. But this time, the flames hit Treecko- causing a lot of damage. It tried to get back on its feet.

"Now finish it off with another Hidden Power!" Serena said.

The attack knocked it backwards, and flat onto the ground.

"PokeBall go!" Serena said, throwing a PokeBall at it. Treecko was engulfed in a red beam, and was swallowed into the PokeBall. It shook and trembled a bit- a red light flashing at its centre as everyone watched in suspense. Then some sparks flew out, and the Ball stood still- with the red light going off.

Serena picked up the PokeBall and said, "I did it! I caught a Treecko!" Braixen let out a happy cry.

"Congratulations Serena! That was great!" Ash said, returning her bag.

"Yeah! That was a really good capture!" Clemont said.

"Yay! We have a new Pokemon in our group!" Bonnie said, jumping in excitement.

"Thanks guys" Serena said, smiling. "Treecko, come on out!" Serena called out her Treecko, which had recovered slightly. "Welcome to our group!" she said with a smile. "Tree-cko!" came the reply, as it climbed onto her shoulder again.

"Take good care of Treecko, Serena" Samantha said warmly.

"I sure will, Samantha!" Serena replied. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "How much do I have to pay you?"

"Pay?" Samantha asked in surprise.

"Yeah. You did say that trainers pay to adopt the Pokemon they like right?" Serena replied.

"Oh! You and your friends brought so much joy to the Pokemon here. That is payment enough, Serena. We are really thankful for all your help today. And I know you and your friends will take great care of Treecko." Samantha replied.

"Thanks Samantha!" Serena replied. "Goodbye! See you again sometime!"

"Take care Serena! And you too Ash, Clemont and Bonnie! Good luck!" Samantha called out as they waved farewell, and set off on the Laverre Nature Trail once again.


	8. Chapter 7- A Bump on the Road

**The Forget Arc:**

"Laverre City. We are finally here!" Ash said, as he and his friends looked down at the city ahead of them.

"Wow. This place is really beautiful isn't it?" Bonnie said.

Laverre City sat at the end of the Laverre Nature Trail. If one thought that the Nature Trail was beautiful, he would be mesmerized by the city itself. Yellowing deciduous trees dotted the city, shading its cobbled streets in several places. Medieval style streetlamps stood at regular intervals. At the centre of the city surrounded by a large park stood a clock tower.

"That clock tower you see is right behind the Laverre Gym" Serena read out from her portable device. "It is also surrounded by a huge park. It is autumn right now, so we should even see some Swanna around Laverre City" she continued.

"Awesome! So let's head straight to the gym!" Ash said, and broke into a run towards the city.

"Ash, wait!" Serena called out, following him.

"Guys, wait for me! Please!" Clemont pleaded as he laboured on behind them. He was the least athletic of them all, and always had difficulty in keeping up with them.

"Come on big brother! Run faster!" Bonnie urged, ahead of him, but behind Serena and Ash.

They stopped over at the Pokemon Centre to get their Pokemon checked. Soon enough, the bell rang; and Nurse Joy stepped out, returning their Pokemon.

"Your Pokemon are just fine! You are good to go!" she said, with a smile- her Wigglytuff beside her.

"Great! Now let's hit the Laverre Gym!" Ash said, turning towards the door.

"I'm sorry Ash, but unless you plan to visit the clock tower, I'm afraid going there is futile today. You see, the gym is closed today; and will reopen only tomorrow" Nurse Joy said.

"Aww man! But I want to get my 6th Gym badge!" Ash said, disappointed. Pikachu shared its trainer's disappointment.

"There now Ash, we could just sit down and rest; and discuss a strategy for your battle!" Clemont said.

"But I want to battle now!" Ash said, his head drooping.

"Hey. Don't worry. I'll find something interesting to do" Serena said, taking out her portable device. She browsed a bit and finally said, "There! The PokeBall Factory! We could go there and see the place. They even have guided tours!" she said. "How does that sound Ash?" she asked.

"That sounds great! Let's head there! Thanks Serena" Ash said, brightening up.

"So you know exactly what Ash likes huh?" Bonnie said to Serena with a sly look.

"Hmph! Keep walking!" Serena said, following Ash in a mock huff.

They made their way past the cobbled streets of Laverre City to reach an area with a large gate. The wide driveway leading up to the immense factory had huge pedestals crowned with massive stone PokeBalls. Rainclouds were beginning to form above them.

"Looks like it is going to rain soon" Clemont said, looking up at the overcast sky.

"We can wait inside the factory if necessary. No need to worry about that" Serena replied.

"I wonder which company makes all these PokeBalls. They must be rich!" Bonnie said.

"They are indeed, Bonnie. PokeBalls are co-produced by Silph Co. which is based in Kanto, and Devon Corp from Hoenn" Clemont answered.

"Yep! Silph is based in Saffron City. They own the biggest tower there. And the headquarters of Devon is in Rustboro City in Hoenn" Ash said.

"Wow Ash. How do you know?" Bonnie asked.

"I have been to both places in my travels" Ash answered, smiling at the little girl.

They reached the doors; when Clemont noticed and asked, "Guys. Doesn't it seem oddly quiet in here for a factory?"

"It sure is" Ash said. "Hello?" he called out. "Anybody here?"

There was no answer.

"M-maybe we should turn back?" Bonnie said, with a slight shiver.

"Let's have a look inside" Ash suggested. He pushed open the doors and walked in. The others followed suit.

"Huh?!" Ash exclaimed in surprise. Not a single person was seen, and not a sound was heard. The machinery lay idle- with several unfinished PokeBalls lined up neatly on the conveyor belts. On the other side of the belts, completed PokeBalls lay in piles. But there was no activity, and the whole place was covered in eerie silence.

"A-ash? I don't have a good feeling about this…" Serena said softly.

"Don't worry Serena. Just stay close to me" Ash said reassuringly, looking at her. His heart jumped slightly as he saw her bright blue eyes; like it had done for quite a while now. "I-I will ensure nothing happens to you Serena, no matter what. I-I promise" he said, stammering slightly.

Serena smiled at him weakly, and drew close to him. Bonnie clutched her brother's arm tightly.

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Clemont called out.

His voice boomed and echoed in the deafening silence, but no reply came.

"There's something really wrong here. Let's go further and check it out" Clemont said.

The group slowly walked forward to the next section of the factory. It grew darker and darker with every step; and there were many turns and forks on the way. They stuck as close as they could to each other. They finally walked through a corridor to a dark T-junction.

"C-can we go back now?" Bonnie suggested softly. The combination of the eerie silence and the darkness frightened her, as she stuck very close to her brother.

"Maybe we should head back. Something's really not right" Ash whispered. Just then, a low moan rang across the corridors- like the voice of some creature in pain. It immediately rose into a deep roar of some fearsome creature, and subsided into a low moan once again. The echoes made it much more terrifying. The group stood with bated breath. Their line of sight instantly expanding to a wide angle. Bonnie was on the verge of tears; her brother stood shell-shocked. Serena clutched on to Ash's arm. The odd warmth of her hold seemed out of place due to the ice-cold terror that he was bathed in.

They still stood frozen a few seconds after the eerie sound. Ash made the first move. He slowly took two steps forward, treading as silently as he could. He was beginning to regret having decided to investigate rather than turn back. They could've been chatting and laughing at the warm and cosy lobby of the Pokemon Centre, sipping on hot chocolate. But here they were- in the cold, dark and silent maw of the PokeBall Factory; trying to make their way out in terror. "Come on guys. Let's head back. Don't make any noise" he whispered, and turned towards the corridor again. But just as they turned, they saw another eerie sight.

A dim, yellow light glowed at a distance from them. The light seemed to be traversing the other corridor slowly- the corridor they were heading towards. What made the sight even more mysterious and odd was that the light was unwavering, unlike what it would've been if a person were walking with a torch. Bonnie sharply drew her breath, accidentally making a small whooping sound. Her brother quickly clapped a hand on her mouth and hissed, "Bonnie!"

The light stopped moving. It stood static for a moment; a moment that seemed like hours to the group, as they stood frozen with bated breath again. They stared at the light, unable to blink- not wanting to miss a single movement. This was one light at the end of the tunnel that they didn't want to see. Pikachu pricked its ears slightly, but stayed silent.

The unwavering light moved in to the corridor in which they stood, and towards them. Ash's eyes widened. He felt like as if someone had poured a bucket of ice-cold water on him. Serena drew closer to him, her grip on his arm grew tighter. He slowly traced back his steps; and so did Clemont and Bonnie; until they felt the cold, hard wall behind them. They watched with wide eyes as the light grew closer and closer to them.

The source of the light was revealed as it drew close, and it bore the same expression on its face that the group showed on theirs as they saw each other. The only difference was that the source of the light wore an expression of surprise, whereas the group had a uniform expression of horror.

"Malamar!" Serena, Clemont and Bonnie exclaimed in a chorus. "Pika!" Pikachu joined in the chorus.

"Run!" Ash yelled. They ran in the directions most convenient to them. Serena followed Ash and Pikachu to the right, whereas Bonnie followed Clemont, who ran to the left. Malamar looked at both directions in anger, and set off in the direction where it came from.

Ash, Serena and Pikachu ran along the corridors- not stopping for anything until they were sure that Malamar could be nowhere behind them.

"Oh no! Clemont and Bonnie got separated from us!" Serena exclaimed when she realized that the blonde siblings weren't anywhere with them as they stopped for breath.

Ash stood a little behind- his back turned to the direction they came from and facing Serena. He realized the same. "I hope they are okay. We need to go find them" he said.

"How do we get out of this place?" he wondered, looking to his left and right, but his gaze soon fell on Serena. It was dim, but he could visibly make out Serena's expression changing. "What's wrong Serena?" he asked.

She slowly lifted her hand. "Ha…" she began, but words failed her. "Pika?" Pikachu said inquiringly, and looked to the direction Serena was pointing. "PIKA!" it cried out in horror. "PIKA-PI!"

"What is it, you guys?" Ash asked, turning back. "No!" he exclaimed, drawing back instantly as he saw what was frightening both Serena and Pikachu. A yellow, unwavering light was moving towards them. He backed a bit, and covered Serena.

"Frogadier, I choose you!" he called out. The white light that ensued lit up the place momentarily as he saw a Malamar moving towards them.

"Frogadier, use Water Pulse!" Ash ordered. Malamar dodged the attack, and continued towards them.

"Frogadier, now use Cut!" he commanded again. Frogadier ran towards Malamar. But Malamar simply picked up Frogadier, moved forward and picked up Ash as well.

"Ash! No!" Serena cried out. But it was too late. Malamar hypnotized both Frogadier and Ash, and set them on the ground. Serena and Pikachu backed away bit by bit. "Pika-pi!" Pikachu called out to its trainer in vain.

Ash and Frogadier turned towards them- their eyes seeming cloudy. Malamar gave Serena and Pikachu an evil look as it watched its hypnotized minions walking towards them.

"Come on Pikachu, let's run!" Serena said, breaking into a run. "Why did I ever suggest the PokeBall factory? Why not the ice-cream parlour or the coffee shop?" she muttered to herself as they ran away- not knowing whether they were running deeper into the factory or towards the exit.

Meanwhile in another part of the factory, Clemont sat on his knees- taking in huge gulps of air after their sprint.

"Oh no! Ash and Serena ran in the other direction! Now what do we do?!" Bonnie exclaimed in shock.

"There now Bonnie, don't worry. We'll go look for them in just a bit" Clemont answered.

"You think they'll be okay?" she asked softly.

"Don't worry! They'll be just fine!" he answered confidently- knowing not that the picture wasn't as rosy as he thought it was. "I wonder where we are right now…" he said, looking around. They were in a portion of the factory that was slightly better lit than the other parts, although it was still dim.

"Big Brother- look!" Bonnie said, pointing out to a small enclosure which seemed like the office of some staff.

"Hmm. Looks like an office of some kind. Let's have a look" Clemont said. They walked towards the door. Just as he was about to turn the knob, they heard some muffled voices from inside.

"Bonnie, quick. Let's get to the side" Clemont whispered. They quickly shuffled to the side of the enclosure. Clemont noticed that there was a small window above them. He adjusted his glasses, and whispered, "Clemontic Gear on!" and activated one of his inventions. "Say hi to my Aipom arm version two!" he whispered again.

"What's the difference?" Bonnie asked unimpressed.

"The difference, is that it has a fitted camera" Clemont answered, pulling out a small screen from his backpack. He switched it on and moved his Aipom arm up to the window. He gasped when the visuals were displayed on his screen. There were a few people- most probably employees of the factory who were tied up and gagged- except for one of them, who was only tied up. Standing in front of them were two people dressed in flaming orange. It was evident that the two dressed in orange didn't get what they want- going by the fact that they gagged the only man who wasn't, and left in a huff after a short conference.

The blonde siblings sat tight without making a single sound or movement from the time they heard the door open and slam shut to the time when the sound of the footsteps faded. They then slowly got up and walked into the enclosure- much to the surprise and happiness of the bound and gagged people.

"Un-fie ush! Fweesh!" one of them called out. Clemont and Bonnie went forward and helped all of them out. Soon, they all stood- rubbing their hands and legs, or stretching.

"Both of you! We can't thank you enough!" a middle-aged man said. "I am the manager of this factory. Those crooks want to steal all the PokeBalls! Do you understand what a disaster this would be? PokeBall prices would be driven sky high in the Kalos region, and in Sinnoh and Unova as well- where we are the primary suppliers! We must do something!" he said urgently.

"We'll do whatever we can to help sir" Clemont said. "But we also need to find two of our friends, who got separated from us" he added.

"Don't worry. But first, we need to get the power back on. Or we won't be able to see a thing!" one of the others said.

"Yeah, and let's call the police!" another person suggested.

"But those crooks cut the phone lines!" the first one said.

"Never mind. I can use my Holo Caster!" a third person quipped.

"Let's do it then!" the manager ordered.

Serena stopped running. They had arrived at yet another fork, and she decided that enough was enough. They were running without knowing whether they were running away from their problems, or deeper into it. A short distance away, Ash and Frogadier pressed on- still under the hypnosis of Malamar. Pikachu looked at her, slightly perplexed about her intentions.

She turned back and faced Ash. "Braixen, come on out!" she called out.

"Ash. Please stop this. Snap out of your hypnosis. It is me, Serena!" she said. "Brai-xen!" Braixen tried to reason with Frogadier as well. "Pika-pi!" Pikachu called out.

Ash heard nothing. Nor did Frogadier. They pressed on, and stopped a slight distance away, seeing that Braixen obstructed Serena. "Submit...before master…" Ash said dryly.

"Ash. Don't you remember our little shopping outing back at Courmarine City? About our race near Vaniville Town?" she asked in vain. He still stood unaware of what she was saying.

"Frogadier. Use…Water Pulse" he ordered. Frogadier complied, and used Water Pulse on Braixen. It was caught unawares, and was knocked back slightly. It whined slightly in pain. Serena ran towards Ash, but Frogadier lashed out at her. She fell backwards. "Ow!" she exclaimed in pain, as a thin line of blood appeared on her cheek from Frogadier's attack.

Ash froze. He heard the muffled exclamation. Almost immediately after that, he felt a mild jolt as he fell to his knees, still hypnotized- although the spell was wearing off. The source of that jolt was Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack. The hypnosis greatly dowsed the pain of the attack, but couldn't reduce the effect of it. Frogadier collapsed- since the attack was super effective.

"Pika-pi…" Pikachu said apologetically. It didn't like doing that, but it hoped that the jolt would snap its trainer back. It ran forward near Frogadier and tapped its paw gently on it. Although Ash wasn't completely out of the spell, Frogadier was- and was on the verge of fainting as well.

"Frog…" it said weakly. Braixen went towards Frogadier, bent and clutched its hand using its paw. "Froggie...frog..." Frogadier said, apologizing for the attack. "Brai...xen" Braixen replied, accepting the apology.

Serena ran towards Ash, fell to her knees and embraced him. "Ash. Please try to snap out of it. Don't you remember me? The straw hat girl? Please break out of this spell" she pleaded, resting her head on his.

The warmth that Ash suddenly felt cleared the cloudiness of his thoughts a bit more. He could hear the echoing voice of Serena. His senses cleared up bit by bit. He soon smelled the faint aroma of jasmine from Serena's honey-blonde hair; felt her warm breath on his neck, and her silky smooth hair on his face. His body ached dully as a result of the Thunderbolt attack, but her embrace felt like a soothing balm. He limply put his arms around Serena and rested his chin on her shoulder. He wished that they could remain that way forever, but she drew slightly back soon enough.

"Glad you're back to your senses" she said with a smile and a blush, when he regained enough strength to sit upright by himself.

"Serena…" Ash said blankly. He noticed the red streak on her cheek. "Did I…did I do this?" he asked.

"What? Er…no Ash" she replied sheepishly, covering the wound with her hand quickly.

"I did. Didn't I?" he asked. He felt very limp, and he hated to think of what else he did when he was hypnotized. He fell to his knees beside Frogadier. "I'm so sorry Serena. And you too Frogadier, Braixen, Pikachu" he said in a voice strongly laced with guilt without looking at any of them. "I'm so sorry I hurt you"

Serena lay one hand on his shoulder. She said softly, "Don't blame yourself Ash. You were hypnotized. You didn't know what you were doing. None of us blame you for anything" She gently lifted his chin and gave him a smile. "You are a brave guy. You did everything you could to protect me there. Or…I might have been hypnotized too"

He looked at her bright blue eyes, and then found himself admiring everything about her. She was so nice and kind. She always managed to make him feel better; no matter how bad he felt at the time. He found himself wanting to gently run his fingertips on her soft, flawless golden cheeks- marred only by that single red streak. "Now's not the time" he thought, pulling himself to give a weak smile.

"Now. How about we try to find a way out of here?" she said with a smile as she stood up.

"Yeah" he replied. "Frogadier, return", he recalled, as he stood up. Serena recalled her Braixen as well. Just then, the lights came on, and brightly lit the factory. It was hard to imagine that this was the same place that was so dark and desolate before. Somewhere, unbeknown to them on the other side of the factory, one of the employees that Clemont and Bonnie saved managed to restore the power to all the sections.

"Great. Now we can find our way out a bit more easily" Ash said, as they looked around them, squinting at first to adjust to the sudden brightness. They found an exit, and ran towards it.

They reached the lawn on the side of the factory. The sky was darker and more overcast than it was when they arrived at the place. Occasional lightning flashed across the thick rainclouds. They ran forward to get to the front-side of the factory when a Malamar swooped down in front of them. It glared at them menacingly. They had slipped away twice, but it wouldn't let them go now. Ash and Serena backed off a bit. Then they looked at each other, nodded in understanding, and called out their Pokemon.

"Sliggoo! I choose you!" "Braixen, come on out!" Ash and Serena called out their Pokemon and faced the Malamar.

"Sliggoo, use Dragon Breath! Straight ahead!" Ash ordered. Malamar countered the attack with a Dark Pulse, setting off a small explosion.

"Braixen, use Flamethrower!" Serena commanded. The attack hit Malamar, which was slightly taken aback. But it only enraged it further as it used Psybeam, aiming at Braixen.

"Sliggoo! Use Muddy Water now! Straight ahead" Ash commanded. Although the Psybeam hit Braixen, the Muddy Water headed straight towards Malamar, which was knocked back. It winced in pain.

"What is going on in here?!" came a voice from behind it. Two people came running towards them. One was woman dressed predominantly in flaming orange- orange suit, orange trousers, orange glasses; even orange hair! The only black she wore were her gloves and her shoes. The other one was a bald man dressed predominantly in white, with orange glasses and gloves. "Who are these kids?" the voice asked. Malamar floated towards them as they caught up to Ash and Serena.

"So you were the kids who freed those workers. You are bigger trouble than you look!" the man said.

"Freed the workers?" Ash and Serena asked together, perplexed.

"Don't you dare act all innocent! Heh! I knew I shouldn't have trusted those grunts. Those fools can't do a single task right. I'll give it to you kids. You managed to escape our team of Malamar very well" he said.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"We, are members of Team Flare. I, am one of the admins. And you, are not going anywhere fast" he replied. "Grunt! Take control of Malamar!" he commanded to the woman beside him.

"Yes sir!" she replied curtly.

"Now you kids will pay for all the trouble you caused us" he said, cracking his joints as if he was preparing for a fistfight. "Houndoom! Let's deal with them!" he called out, sending out the PokeBall he picked from his belt.

It was a Houndoom and a Malamar against Braixen and Sliggoo.

"Houndoom! Use Flamethrower!" the Admin commanded.

"Malamar, use Flamethrower too!" the Grunt commanded.

"Sliggoo! Use Muddy Water!" Ash ordered. The Muddy Water attack easily washed through the Flamethower attacks and scored a direct hit on Houndoom- dealing significant damage.

"Braixen, use Hidden Power on Malamar!" Serena ordered. Again, the attack squarely hit the dazed Malamar, knocking it back again. It was growing more and more tired; having taken some hits beforehand.

"You fool! Why did you use the same attack as me?!" the Admin yelled. "Not one of these Grunts are fit for anything" he muttered to himself angrily.

"I'm sorry, sir" the Grunt apologized curtly.

"Not bad at all! You both would make decent additions to Team Flare!" the Admin said, applauding Ash and Serena.

"We wouldn't dream of doing such a thing!" Serena replied.

"Pity. Perhaps you'll see reason when you both are beaten" he replied, after giving out a thunderous laugh. "Houndoom! Fire Blast on Sliggoo!" he commanded.

A fire attack the shape of a "dai" symbol made its way towards Sliggoo. There was no escape. The attack scored a direct hit. Although Fire attacks had less effect on Dragon types, the sheer power of the attack dealt a lot of damage on Sliggoo.

"Malamar! Use Psybeam on Sliggoo!" the Grunt commanded.

"Braixen, Flamethrower on Malamar!" Serena ordered.

"Oh no you don't, girl! Houndoom, Feint Attack!" the Admin yelled out. Houndoom rushed towards Braixen, which had just begun shooting off a flame from the tip of its lighted twig, and rammed against its shoulder- pushing Braixen off-balance. The Flamethrower attack flew around wildly. Serena moved aside to dodge some of the flames- but the flame caught her hair. She dowsed the flames with a slight scream, but not before it burned off a portion of her hair.

"Serena!" Ash exclaimed, looking in her direction. Her hair was burned to just a little below her neck on the right side, while the left side of her hair remained intact. Braixen turned towards her cried out at its trainer with a look of deep guilt.

"Heh. Now Malamar, use Superpower on Braixen" the Admin commanded quietly.

That was the last that Serena remembered- the cool voice with which he gave the command and the evil smirk that he had on his face as Malamar rushed towards Braixen, knocking it towards her in full force. The force and power of the attack was so great that Serena was knocked back along with Braixen. A sickening sound was heard as Serena crashed against a tree behind her, with the full weight of Braixen falling on her. Everything went dark and silent in her world as she slid to the ground limply.

She didn't see Ash run towards her. She didn't hear his terrified voice call out her name. She didn't feel the raindrops beginning to fall on her with increasing frequency. Her world had gone blank as the impact of the hit knocked her unconscious.

"Serena!" Ash cried out loudly in horror when there was no response. A tear- more one of horror and rage than sadness dropped from one of his eyes on her cheek, mixed with the raindrops. "No…" he said in disbelief as he lay her head on the ground gently. He then got up and yelled at the Admin, "That was a cheap move. A dirty trick!"

"Should've thought of that before crossing paths with Team Flare! That will teach you!" came the reply.

"You will pay for this dearly!" Ash yelled, burning in rage.

Sliggoo saw nothing, but it knew what went on. It heard the whole ordeal. It heard Serena crash against the tree. It heard Ash desperately call out her name. It heard him yell out in rage against the opponent. It also heard the Admin's crass reply. It was just as enraged as its trainer. The raindrops fell on its gooey body, which was soon engulfed in white- and was growing larger and larger. A Goodra burst out of the white light; an outraged Goodra. It would've been seen as a friendly and passive Pokemon had it not been for the menacing roar it let out; and the scary expression that it bore on its face. The combination was intimidating enough to make Houndoom and Malamar take a couple of steps back.

"Braixen, will you listen to me?" Ash asked. An affirmative reply came from the fox Pokemon. But Goodra had other ideas. It was far too enraged that its trainer's close friend- someone who had taken care of it so dotingly and affectionately was attacked in that way. It rushed at both Houndoom and Malamar, and used Outrage on them.

It thrashed them about brutally. Both the Pokemon lay in a heap after the ordeal. But Goodra wasn't done. It used a powerful Dragon Pulse at the pile, knocking the two Pokemon far away- much to the shock of the Admin and the Grunt, who just stared at the scene.

"Are you done, cowards?!" Ash bellowed.

The Admin opened his mouth to reply, when a helicopter lowered down from above. "Sir, there's too much trouble for us at the factory. The mission is aborted, sir" a Grunt said, running towards them. He cast an angry look at Ash and Goodra, pointed a fat finger at them and said, "I won't forget what you called me. Someday, you will pay for all this, kid." He looked at the unconscious body of Serena. "You and your meddlesome friend" he added. "And on that day, nothing can save you" He recalled his Houndoom. The other Flare member recalled the Malamar as they ran towards the helicopter and took off.

Ash didn't think of thanking or congratulating his newly-evolved Goodra. He thought of nothing but Serena at that moment. He rushed towards her, knelt in front of her and tried to nudge her. But it was in vain. He lay his hand on her cheek tenderly, and closed his eyes- unable to bear the sight. "Serena…please be okay…" he whispered desperately.

Clemont and Bonnie appeared at a distance, running with a grin on their faces. They stopped short when they saw Ash kneeling in front of Serena, who lay on the ground; with Braixen and Goodra standing a short distance away. The grin turned into a look of surprise, and then shock and fear as they ran towards the two.

"Ash! Ash!" Clemont called out. "Is everything okay?"

"Why is Serena on the ground?" Bonnie asked. "Oh! My God…" she exclaimed, clapping her hands on her face as she saw the sight of the unconscious Serena.

"Bonnie? Bonnie move back!" Clemont called out. He knelt near Ash and looked at Serena. He checked her for pulse; and while he was a bit relieved, he was still much worried. "Ash, we need to get her to the Pokemon Centre at once" he said.

"Big brother…is she…" Bonnie asked, frightened.

"What? No. She's unconscious. Bonnie, help carry Pikachu. Ash, let's get Serena to the Pokemon Centre" Clemont said.

"Right. Goodra, return" Ash recalled his Pokemon. He looked at Serena, hesitated and picked out Braixen's Pokeball. "Braixen, return" It complied without hesitation, casting one last forlorn glance at its trainer as it was recalled into its Ball. They then carried the unconscious Serena to the Pokemon Centre- not caring for the fact that it was raining heavily. They walked past the PokeBall Pillars, and left behind the great factory- which was but a dark silhouette in the rain. It was an unexpected bump on the road…


	9. Chapter 8- Worry and Guilt

"…just playing…one with Rhyhorn…" a muffled voice, mostly unintelligible was heard. "…til' it's over" sounded another muffled, unintelligible voice. The only feature about it was that it was distinctly different compared to the first one. Just then, the thick, dark fog that had been covering everything like a black curtain was pierced by a burst of bright, white light. It grew larger and larger, as if one were walking from a dark cave into blinding sunlight.

Serena slowly opened her eyes. Everything was momentarily a blur. "…erena?" a muffled voice said. She saw a predominantly blue blur approach her. Her senses soon cleared. She was lying down on a bed in a room that was bathed in sunlight. Everything seemed oddly unfamiliar.

"Serena? You're awake! Finally!" the relieved voice said. She saw the source. It was a raven-haired boy, wearing a blue coat. She felt a dull, throbbing pain in her head. She gingerly moved one hand slowly up to her head, and felt a thick bandage. Fear slowly welled up in her. "What is going on?" she wondered.

"Serena! How are you? We were so worried!" the boy with the raven hair said.

"Yeah! You took quite a hit!" the other bespectacled boy with blonde hair said.

A little girl with blonde hair chorused, "Serena! Are you feeling better?"

"Pika pika!" a Pokemon cried out. "Ne ne ne!" quipped another. "Brai-xen! Brai!" came a third cry. The cries came from her right, where the three Pokemon stood. She was confused.

"Serena?" she asked in a weak voice, much to the surprise of everyone. Just then, a sweet-faced woman walked in. She had pink hair that was tied into two plaits that looped back on either side of her head, and she wore a pink dress with a white apron.

"Good morning! How is the patient doing?" she asked.

"Nurse Joy! She is awake, but…" the raven haired boy said.

"What's the matter Ash?" Nurse Joy asked in reply, as she walked towards the bed.

"Good morning! How are you feeling?" Nurse Joy asked Serena.

"I…sorry. But who are you all?" Serena asked, getting more and more confused and scared by the minute. She had a feeling that she should've been able to recognize them, but much as she tried, she couldn't. It was compounded by the fact that they clearly seemed worried about her.

"Serena?" the raven haired boy- who she had now come to know of as Ash, asked with a look of disbelief. "You are joking right? It's me. Ash! And this is Clemont, and Bonnie!" he continued. To compound his disbelief, and to lace it with fear, she continued looking at him in a dazed manner.

"We've travelled for quite some time now!" Ash added desperately.

"Yeah Serena! And there's your Braixen!" Bonnie said, pointing to the fox Pokemon standing beside her. Braixen bore the same look of confusion and desperation as Ash.

Serena placed both her hands on her ears slowly, as her expression turned to one of deep fear. She was extremely confused; but more than that, she couldn't understand why she was absolutely unable to recognize anything at all. "Stop it! All of you! Please stop it!" she cried out, closing her eyes. "Leave me alone!"

"Alright. Out of here, all of you!" Nurse Joy said, ushering them all out of the door. She shut the door, and returned to Serena to perform some checks.

Outside the doors, the group was as confused as Serena was. "What was all that about?" Ash asked, still unable to believe what happened.

"I don't know Ash. It was really odd" Clemont said. They waited for a few minutes, when Nurse Joy came out with a stony expression.

"Nurse Joy. What just happened? Why was she acting that way? Will she be okay?" Ash asked.

"Serena is just fine. She just needs some rest. But unfortunately…the injury to her head was quite bad. It seems to have caused amnesia" she said. "Memory loss" she quickly added seeing that they didn't understand her.

"Memory loss?!" the group exclaimed together.

"Shh! Be quiet! Yes. Memory loss. She can't remember anything, unfortunately. Not even her own name" she said.

"But...Nurse Joy. She will…she will regain her memories right?" Ash asked.

She looked at the expectant faces of the three, and rested her eyes on Bonnie for a bit, who looked like as if she would break into tears any time. "Of course! Don't worry" she said, rather half-heartedly.

"That's a relief!" Bonnie said with a sigh of relief. "But if she can't remember anything, how could she talk?" she asked.

"Well you see- speech, language, comprehension and such tasks use other parts of the brain, which were unaffected by the injury. That is one very encouraging fact for you three to know. She hasn't suffered any serious brain damage" Nurse Joy said with a smile.

"Wow. You know a lot about humans too! I thought Nurse Joys were only for Pokemon!" Bonnie said gleefully.

"You aren't completely wrong, Bonnie. It is just that I studied Human Medicine too out of interest at the Anistar University of Health Sciences" she replied. "Why don't you all get something to eat now? You haven't eaten anything since you came here yesterday!" she told them.

Ash recalled Braixen, which he had taken temporary possession and responsibility of, and was about to join Clemont and Bonnie for some breakfast when Nurse Joy asked, "Ash, can you come with me for a moment?" She waited till the blonde siblings went away, taking Pikachu with them and then said in a serious tone, "Ash. I thought I would keep this from you all, but it feels wrong professionally. I feel that while Bonnie may not want to know this, at least you need to know"

"What is it Nurse Joy?" Ash asked, his heart sinking slowly by the tone of her voice and the expression she bore.

"It is about Serena. Don't be too alarmed. I just thought you should know that there is also a probability that she may…she may not ever regain her memories" she said.

"What?!" Ash exclaimed, looking at her with an expression of deep disappointment. He didn't know what else to say at that point. The news struck him like lightning. "Nurse Joy…" he started.

"But don't worry too much" she added quickly. "There is a good 60-70% chance that she will recover"

"But there's a 30-40% chance that she may…" Ash said, with an expression of shock.

"Yes. All we can do is hope right now. Hope that there's something that can act as a catalyst for her to rebuild her memories. I'm sorry" she said. "But like I said, there's a very good chance that she'll recover her memories. Don't worry yourself too much over it. When she recovers a bit more, then you can all talk to her, and try to refresh her memories. The recovery should take up to a week and a half at most."

"Alright. Thanks Nurse Joy" Ash said, walking away. A week and a half, an agonizing week and a half was the only thing definitive about the future.

"Ash, do keep this news from Bonnie. She need not know" Nurse Joy called out. Ash turned back, gave a curt nod, and walked away. He joined the blonde siblings at the cafeteria, the words of Nurse Joy still ringing in his ears.

"Hello Ash! We ordered some spaghetti and meatballs for you while you were away. We anticipated you would be feeling quite hungry. After all, you hardly ate anything last night" Clemont said.

"Pika!" Pikachu said gleefully, with a bottle of its favourite tomato ketchup in his hands.

"Thanks Clemont" he answered, with a quick, sheepish smile.

"I must say, I was really worried. Luckily her injury isn't that serious, and she'll recover completely soon enough" Clemont said.

"That's what you think" Ash thought to himself. But he got himself to give a wry smile, and nodded. Their food arrived, but he didn't feel hungry. Usually, he would've wolfed down the plate and ordered another one. But he didn't even feel like touching his food after the bombshell that Nurse Joy dropped. He envied the ignorance of Clemont and Bonnie- how they ate peacefully and were so happy, knowing just a rosy picture.

"Ash? Ash? You haven't touched your food" Bonnie said, snapping him out of his thoughts after a while.

"What? Oh! Yeah. Sorry. I was just lost in my thoughts" Ash said, forcing a smile. He forced himself to eat small morsels of his food until he finished it. He could barely stomach the food, as he was constantly tortured by the thought that Serena would remain as blank as she was a few moments before.

They sat in the lobby later. The TV showed a league football match between Lumiose United and Parfum Park Rangers. Clemont and Bonnie were glued to the screen, but Ash had no interest. The match ended after what seemed like an eternity to him, and Clemont indulged himself with a magazine, while Bonnie got up and started playing a small game with Pikachu and Dedenne.

Finally, Clemont noticed that Ash was still quite troubled. He sat beside him and said, "Ash, don't dwell on it too much. Nurse Joy said it would be okay right?" He sighed when he got no response. "Okay. What's the matter? Didn't Nurse Joy say that she would be okay?" he asked.

Ash looked at Bonnie, who was happily watching Dedenne rolling about with Pikachu chasing it in a circle. He sighed and said, "Nurse Joy gave you a rosy picture because she didn't want Bonnie to know this. Remember she called me aside after you guys went to the cafeteria?" Clemont nodded, his face straightening and beginning to show hints of worry.

"She told me that there isn't a guarantee that she would be okay. There's still a 30-40% chance that she may never remember anything" he said.

Clemont's jaw dropped. "B-but…" he began, but stopped.

"Right now, all we can do is 'hope for the best.' Whatever that means!" Ash scoffed.

"Oh my…" Clemont said.

They passed the day almost completely in silence. Clemont and Bonnie went off to bed early, but Ash stayed up. He was too worried to sleep. Nurse Joy saw him morosely staring off the balcony when she performed her last rounds before shutting the Pokemon Centre for the night. Eventually, Ash walked back to the room they stayed in and tried to get some sleep. Sleep did come, but it was no more peaceful than staying awake.

* * *

><p>The next day, Nurse Joy called out Clemont and Ash. "So Ash has told you about what I said?" she asked the blonde.<p>

"Yes, Nurse Joy" he replied.

"Look. I know you both are really troubled by all this. But…life must go on. Ash, you need to take care of yourself. I saw you awake very late last night. I know this must all be really hard for you both, but you still need to eat and sleep well. And besides, there is such a high probability that she would be okay!" she said, almost scolding them. "Do you understand?" she asked sternly, after brief silence.

"Yes Nurse Joy" they replied.

"Good. Ash, you plan to challenge the Laverre Gym right? Why don't you both train outside? It would help you keep your mind off things for a bit" she said.

"Yeah. I guess we could" Clemont said.

"And to raise your spirits, I have some good news. Serena managed to eat what I gave this morning, and should be able to walk around a bit and talk just fine by tomorrow. She has more or less gotten over the initial shock" she said kindly.

"Really? That's great!" Ash said, his face brightening up.

"Indeed it is!" she replied with a smile.

They returned to the lobby, and began discussing strategies against Valerie- the Laverre City Gym leader who they learned specialized in Fairy types. Ash was still disturbed, although much less. The thought of talking to Serena again and seeing her walk around seemed cheering enough.

After lunch, they went to the training arena behind the Pokemon Centre and started a practise battle. Although he knew she wouldn't be walking just yet, Ash found himself looking at the window of the room where Serena rested regularly, hoping to see her watching him train. After the umpteenth time of him looking towards her window, he realized that he had grown used to her being around while he was training. She rarely helped him in his training, and just stood on the side-lines watching him train most of the time. Yet, he seemed to miss it.

Once they were done training, they all paid another visit to Serena, who was sleeping. They sat in the ward till dinner time, speaking in low volumes at times. Serena slept deeply the whole time, and none of them wanted to wake her.

When it was time to go, Ash lingered and moved to Serena's side. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. He saw her smooth, golden cheek. The small cut had now disappeared. Her awkwardly burned honey-blonde hair lay untied and open where the bandage didn't hold her hair. "I hope you get well soon Serena" he said softly- more to himself than to her. "Good night"

* * *

><p>The next day after breakfast, they went to visit her again. Nurse Joy, who had just finished giving her breakfast, saw them on the way and said, "Good morning! I have good news for you. Serena is now fit enough to walk around a little bit. Of course, she still has some recovery to do before she can go out for short walks outside the Pokemon Centre, but you can all talk to her again. Don't overwhelm her with too much talk of your journeys together yet though. But do try and see if you can refresh her memory a little"<p>

"Nurse Joy! You say that she should be able to walk a bit now. Why can't she walk easily? Only her head is injured after all, not her legs" Bonnie quipped.

Nurse Joy smiled and replied, "It isn't just her head, Bonnie. Her neck is a bit stiff too. And in general, such a hit to her head and the bed rest after that would make it difficult for her to walk for a short while"

"Oh I see!" Bonnie said.

"Can we go see her now?" Ash asked, a bit impatiently.

"Sure Ash, go ahead! I'll come along soon. And remember what I told you about talking to her!" Nurse Joy replied.

The trio ran up to Serena's room and walked in. She was sitting up on her bed rather stiffly. "Good morning!" she said to them pleasantly. "Nurse Joy has told me a little about you guys, and a little about…you know, my situation. So I must tell you. I still can't remember anything. I hope you will bear with me"

"Bear with you? Come on Serena!" Clemont said. "We are such close friends after all"

"Yeah!" Bonnie chorused happily. Serena looked at her and smiled. She then turned to Ash, who stood silent with a hint of an enigmatic smile as he saw her bright and lively face. "Well?" she asked him.

"I'm just happy that we are finally talking again. And that you are getting better" he said with a wry smile. She couldn't help but smile. She felt strangely drawn towards him, but she didn't know why.

"Thank you all" she said.

Just then, Nurse Joy walked in to the room and said, "Well, I think we can help Serena stand up and walk a bit now. What do you say, Serena?"

"Sure!" she replied with a bright smile.

"Great. Ash, can you help her along with me? She might need some support for a while" Nurse Joy asked.

"Yeah sure" he replied, walking to the bedside. She placed one of her arms around Nurse Joy's shoulder, and placed her other arm around Ash's. He braced her by placing his own arm around her.

"Carefully now…" Ash said gently as they helped her get on her feet. They helped her walk around a bit around the room. She felt an odd warmth in her as she limped around. She looked at Ash and wondered again why she felt so drawn to him; and why she felt so comfortable with him beside her. Soon enough, she was able to walk slowly herself.

"Alright. I'll be off now then. I guess I'll leave you three with her now. I'll be back around lunchtime" a satisfied Nurse Joy said before she left the room. Ash called out Braixen, Pancham and Treecko , and they sat and chatted about a few memorable incidents in their travels. Bonnie was the most animated of them all, along with Serena's Pokemon- who were overjoyed seeing their trainer sitting up and talking again.

"So you are my starter Pokemon huh?" she said, stroking Braixen's head. "And you both are such great Pokemon!" she said, looking at Pancham and Treecko. "Looks like I have some really good memories with you guys" she said and sighed. "I wish I could remember them. Maybe I will sometime soon" she added, almost dreamily. She looked at Ash- who watched everything rather subdued. He didn't say much, but he bore a mysterious smile the whole time. He was enjoying the sight of her interacting with her Pokemon and Bonnie- who was as much their little sister as she was Clemont's.

Nurse Joy returned at lunchtime and suggested that Serena eat her meals in her room for the day. Though she managed to walk around a little bit, Nurse Joy felt that it would be prudent to allow her a little more time for recovery. She promised the trio that she would allow Serena to leave the ward by the next day.

They returned after lunch and began talking to her for a while. "You know Serena, when you recover, let's both head to the ice cream parlour and have some ice cream together like we did so many times before!" Bonnie said excitedly.

Serena yawned at first, then smiled and said, "Sure Bonnie! I'd love to!"

"Come on Bonnie, let's go and let Serena rest a bit now. She seems rather tired" Ash suggested, noticing the yawn.

Serena looked at him blankly as he said that and felt her heart leap slightly as he turned to look at her after he said that. "What is it with this guy?" she thought to herself.

"Alright. Get well soon Serena!" Bonnie said, as she stood up and went out of the room, followed immediately by Clemont. Serena lifted her hand slightly in farewell as he took one last look at her before leaving the room. He returned the gesture with a smile and closed the door behind him.

* * *

><p>"I think the best line-up you can choose would be Frogadier, Pikachu and Fletchinder" Clemont suggested. They had taken a short break after their first practise battle and were discussing strategies.<p>

"Yeah that's what I was thinking I'd do as well" Ash replied. "Well, let's get back to the practise battle!" he said, getting on his feet. He took his place on one side as Clemont walked over to the other. He glanced at the window of the first floor of the Pokemon Centre on his left- the window of Serena's ward. Seeing Serena walk around a little and hearing her voice once again had a substantial effect on his spirits. He felt much happier and brighter despite the small, nagging doubt in his mind planted by Nurse Joy the other day.

"I just thought you should know that there is also a probability that she may…she may not ever regain her memories…" those words rang in his head again.

"Ash?" a voice, which he quickly recognized as Clemont's, broke him out of his thoughts. "Er…shall we begin the battle?" Clemont asked.

"What? Oh yeah sure! Sorry" Ash replied, as he unclipped the PokeBall that contained Fletchinder. "Fletchinder! I choose you!" he called out, and they soon began the battle between his Fletchinder and Clemont's Bunnelby. In the midst of it, Ash glanced at Serena's ward again. His heart leapt. "Serena!" he exclaimed to himself. There she was, holding the curtains back and watching them train. Her mouth was slightly ajar as she watched them with an otherwise blank look. He smiled, and turned his attention to the battle once again. He felt much more confident that she would recover than before.

* * *

><p>The next morning; the fourth morning after Serena awoke, Nurse Joy adjudged that Serena was physically recovering well enough to be discharged.<p>

"Does it hurt?" she asked Serena while pressing one part of her head.

"No it doesn't" came the reply.

"Now?" she asked, pressing a different part of her head.

"No" Serena replied.

"Alright then. How's your neck?" Nurse Joy inquired.

"It still feels a little stiff, but otherwise it is alright" Serena said, placing one hand on her neck.

"Good. I guess we can take this off now" Nurse Joy said, removing the bandages. The longer part of Serena's hair was unravelled as it flowed down her back. She put her hand on it and said, "Looks like I need to get a haircut!" with a slight laugh. "Wonder how this happened…" she added. Oddly, it had a stronger effect than necessary on Ash, who was standing on one side along with Clemont and Bonnie. Once again, worry began to fill him as he was reminded that Serena had not yet recovered from her memory loss.

"Well, I suppose I could allow you to go to the hairdresser, who is just down this street. But do be careful! And Ash, please take care of her" Nurse Joy said. "If you feel dizzy, or you find any difficulty in walking, come back immediately alright?" she added.

"Okay Nurse Joy. Thank you so much for all your help" Serena said with a wide smile. She then turned to Ash, Clemont and Bonnie and asked, "Shall we?"

"Sure! Let's go! And let's have an ice-cream too on the way!" Bonnie replied excitedly as she skipped to Serena's side and held on to her arm. Serena smiled at how active and excited she was.

The group went outside, and walked down the street towards the hair salon. Serena saw one of the boutiques on the way and stopped them. She went inside and came out quickly, holding a bag in her hands as they continued to the salon. When her haircut was done, she entered one of the dressing rooms, and soon revealed her new look to them.

Ash, Clemont, Bonnie; and even Pikachu bore a look of surprise as she presented herself. Her hair, which previously went down to her waist, was now slightly below her shoulders. She also changed to a pink frock and a red thigh-length coat, and changed from her sneakers to a pair of dark brown boots. She had given up her old hat for a similarly coloured fedora.

"I liked you better with longer hair…" Bonnie said, slightly disappointed.

Ash smiled and placed his hand on Bonnie's head. "It suits her…" he said, still looking at her. He felt that a change in her hairstyle or her attire didn't make her any less beautiful. Her bright, blue eyes looked like an endless ocean in a sunny day; an ocean in which he'd have loved to be stranded in.

"Shall we go for lunch now?" Clemont asked, snapping Ash out of his thoughts, once again.

"Can I get some ice-cream from the shop on the way first?" Bonnie asked.

"Alright. You can have it" Clemont replied.

Ash volunteered to buy her the ice-cream. When he picked up an ice-cream in the shop and went to the cashier, he was immediately taken aback by his reply. "Hey! You're Ash Ketchum aren't you?" the cashier asked excitedly

"Er…yeah. Why?" he gave a perplexed reply.

"Awesome! My nephew and I watched your match live in the Lily of the Valley Conference against that guy with the Darkrai and Latios. We are huge fans! That was such an amazing battle!" the cashier replied.

"Yeah…" Ash replied, not wanting to be reminded by that.

"Can you give me your autograph? Oh my nephew is going to be so delighted when he sees this!" the cashier asked, bringing out the match description magazine from the Lily of the Valley Conference.

"But I've never been asked for an autograph…" he replied.

"Aw come on! There's always a first time for everything!" the cashier replied with a wink. "My nephew will be really happy!"

"Alright I guess…" Ash said, signing the magazine.

"Thank you!" exclaimed the cashier. He fished around a bit in the cupboard under his table and brought out a small gift. "This is not much, but do take this as a token of my appreciation. And I'll throw in that ice-cream free too! Do come and visit again! Good luck in the Kalos League! We'll be rooting for you!" he added.

"Alright. Er…thanks!" Ash replied, walking out of the store, still dazed by what happened. He handed Bonnie the ice-cream.

"Thanks Ash! What is that you are holding?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know. The cashier gave this as a gift. Apparently he's a fan" he replied. "Oh well. I guess I'll open it in the Pokemon Centre" he added, after which they returned to the Pokemon Centre for lunch.

After lunch, Clemont expressed his wish to continue working on one of his inventions, while Bonnie went to play outside with Pikachu and Dedenne. Ash and Serena sat in the lobby in silence; both of them because they were lost in their thoughts. Once again, doubts and worry started creeping in to Ash after a while; and that was when he decided to talk a little to Serena. He turned to say something, but stopped short as he saw her staring at the wall opposite to her blankly.

A moment later, her face brightened, like as if she came to some sudden realization. Ash's heart leapt in joy as he saw her open her mouth to say something. He thought this was the moment where she remembered everything. Her recovery was complete! She was back to normal!

She closed her mouth, shook her head slightly, and was immersed in her thoughts once again, as Ash's hopes came crashing down . He shook his head and began to worry slightly as he remembered the words of Nurse Joy. What if she never regained her memories? But this time, a new feeling came along with the fear and worry- a feeling of guilt.

"If only I had decided to stay here and rest for a bit like Clemont suggested, all this wouldn't have happened…" he thought to himself. "What if she never regains her memories? What will I tell Ms Yvonne? I promised her that I would take care of her…"

Ms Yvonne. He had forgotten to update her about the developments. He had made a phone-call to her informing her of Serena's injury, and one more when she first woke up after it. But he hadn't called Grace since that.

"Serena! Come with me" he said, drawing Serena's attention. "Let's talk to your mother"

"My mother?" Serena asked blankly, as she followed him to one of the phones. He dialled the number, and Grace soon picked up the phone.

"Hello Ms. Yvonne! I have some good news for you. Serena is finally walking around! We just went to the hair salon a while ago!" Ash said.

"That's great news! Oh I'm so happy Ash. I was so worried!" Grace replied in great relief.

"Yeah. I was too. Why don't you talk to her?" Ash asked, as he moved aside and nudged Serena to sit. Serena hesitated and looked at him.

"She knows, Serena. I've told her. Go on, talk to her!" Ash said understandingly. He understood that she was worrying about how her mother would feel if she couldn't answer a usual question, or remember anything she said.

"Mom?" she asked rather awkwardly, taking her place in front of the phone.

"Oh my dear child! How are you? I'm so glad you are feeling better now" Grace said.

"Thanks mom. I…I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say here…" Serena said, embarrassed.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'm glad I got to see you and hear you. Don't worry, you'll be fine soon I'm sure. Just…take care of yourself alright?" Grace said with a warm smile.

"Alright. Bye!" Serena said. How she wished she could say more. But she just didn't know what to say. She remembered nothing. She needed someone to tell her that the person she just talked to was her mother! Just then, Nurse Joy called her for a small check-up, and she went to her. Ash took his place in front of the phone. He had seen the conversation, and he didn't feel very good. Grace saw his sick look in the video link and asked, "Ash? Are you alright?"

"What? Oh yeah. I'm fine! It's just…" Ash said, waving it off.

Grace took a long look and said, "I can't thank you enough for taking so much care of my daughter Ash. Really. Thank you so much"

"It's my responsibility, Ms. Yvonne" he replied rather guiltily, drawing a warm smile from Grace, as she cut the call saying, "Take care"

Seeing the conversation between Serena and her mother, and seeing how worried her mother was, he began to feel worse. "If only I had turned back in front of the PokeBall Factory when Bonnie suggested it…" he thought to himself as he took a seat on the sofa in the lobby once again.

"Ash? Are you okay? You don't look very well" came a voice. Ash didn't have to turn to see who it was. That sweet voice could belong to no one else. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Serena return and sit beside him.

"Oh! I'm fine!" he replied quickly, forcing a smile. "Done already? What did Nurse Joy call you for?" he asked.

"Nothing much. She just asked me if I felt dizzy or anything after the walk" she replied.

"Oh alright" he replied.

"So what is in that box?" she asked, after a short moment of silence.

"Huh? Oh that one!" he said as he saw which box she was referring to- the gift he won at the store. "I'm not sure. Let's see" he said, picking up the box and opening the packaging. "Oh. It's a ribbon…" he said rather distastefully.

"It's a silk ribbon!" Serena exclaimed with wide eyes as she saw the wounded up blue ribbon.

Ash saw her look, closed the box and offered it to her with both hands. "Here Serena. This one's for you" he said with a smile.

"For me?" Serena asked.

"Yeah. I realize I never truly thanked you for all the support you gave me so far" he replied.

"I did?" she asked

"Yes. You did. In a lot of ways. So take it" Ash said, his smile widening.

She took the gift and looked at his eyes. "Thanks…" she said. Ash nodded. Just then, Bonnie, Pikachu and Dedenne returned from their playtime. It was nearing sunset. Another day had come to an end…

* * *

><p>A couple of days passed. At times they talked with Serena, at times she would stare blankly at nothing in particular, as if in some sort of trance. She would silently watch the practise battles between Ash and Clemont. Her physical condition had steadily improved- yet her memories were still as cloudy as before.<p>

As each day passed, Ash's fears that Serena might never regain her memories grew. Each time she looked like she would say something after some long silence, his heart would leap, hoping that she would declare that her memories were all back. But such a declaration never came. That feeling of fear was also accompanied with growing guilt. Ash grew more and more morose by the day, as he lost hope bit by bit.

Nurse Joy had mentioned at one point that such cases usually took a week to a week and half to recover. That deadline was approaching- slowly, but surely and dauntingly.

It was the late afternoon of the sixth day after she awoke. It was sunny the whole day, but dark rainclouds now covered the sky, waiting to burst into heavy rain any time. The group sat in the lobby of the Pokemon Centre. They had discussed all possible strategies for the Laverre Gym, but Ash had no mind to challenge the gym- given the state of affairs. Despite it having been a beautiful day, the group sat inside the whole time.

There was a rumbling of thunder, as raindrops began falling at an increasing rate. Bonnie, having sat inside the whole day, had some ideas. "I'm going out to play, big brother! Come on Pikachu and Dedenne!" she called out, running out of the Pokemon Centre, with Pikachu and Dedenne following suit.

"Wait Bonnie! Get back here! You'll get sick!" Clemont called out. Too late. "Oh God. Bonnie!" he called out, switching on his Aipom Arm, which was modified to add the feature of acting as an umbrella. He came back five minutes later, dragging the reluctant, and fully drenched girl inside.

"I told you not to go play in the rain! You'll get sick!" Clemont scolded, as he took her to the room.

"You keep nagging me! I won't get sick because of a little rain!" Bonnie protested as she was dragged along.

"The fights of brother and sister are really something huh?" Serena asked with a slight laugh.

"Yeah" Ash replied.

After they had their dinner, Nurse Joy suggested, "Why don't you go to the Laverre Nature Trail tonight? It has just rained, and the lake there would be a beautiful sight! Moreover there should be some wild Swanna too if you're lucky. It is autumn after all, and Laverre is said to look surreal during this time! And the fresh air will do you some good too, Serena"

Bonnie was about to agree wholeheartedly, but quickly thought otherwise. "I'm too tired" she said. "Why don't you both go together Ash?" she asked.

Ash looked a little surprised, just like Serena was.

"Pikachu, why don't you come play with us for a while?" Bonnie called out to the electric rodent. "Ne ne ne!" Dedenne said. Pikachu ran towards Bonnie from Ash's side.

"Well. I suppose that should be fine…if Serena's okay with it" Ash said, looking towards Serena.

"Oh I'm fine with it! After all, it is apparent that I have travelled with you for so long right?" she said.

"Well. That settles it then. I'm staying here with Bonnie" Clemont said. "I'm a bit tired too. Maybe we'll go to that lake some other time. You guys go ahead"

"Okay then. Ash, you do know the lake don't you? Just enter the Nature Trail, and walk until you see the signboard. Then just follow the direction. It isn't far" Nurse Joy said.

"Okay Nurse Joy, thanks for the suggestion!" he replied, as the two of them exited the Pokemon Centre. They walked through the cobbled streets of Laverre City, and past various buildings which were primarily built using Bourbon era architecture. Shopkeepers were shutting shop for the day. Every now and then, they passed by a happy couple walking hand in hand. Behind them, the Laverre Clock Tower with its lighted face towered above the quaint and sleepy city. Laverre, unlike most of the other cities, had no tall buildings; hence the Clock Tower was the tallest, even though it was just three storeys high. The streets were lined with medieval styled streetlamps, which added to the feel of Laverre being a medieval era township.

They soon entered the Nature Trail. The rain that poured earlier ensured that the sky was clear. The whole land was lit with the cool light of the full moon, and various Froakie and Kricketurne were putting their singing talents to work. They walked past the signboard Nurse Joy mentioned, and reached the lake soon enough. They were the only two people in the area.

"It is a beautiful sight isn't it?!" Serena exclaimed.

Indeed it was. The lake was clear as crystal- with not so much of a ripple disturbing the waters. It mirrored the full moon and the countless stars that shone like diamonds studded on the finest velvet. The air was cool, and carried the faint scent of the blooming queens of the night flowers.

"It sure is!" Ash said, awestruck himself. They sat down on one of the logs, and gazed at the scene in silence. The lake was disturbed slightly by two Swanna that hopped in for a swim. They watched the two Swanna swim around the lake, almost circling each other. The moonlight reflected off their light blue bodies, giving the scene a surreal look.

"Ash…" Serena said after a while, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" he replied.

She leaned backwards as much as she could, looked up at the sky and asked, "Do you know what it feels like? To…forget everything about yourself?"

He looked at her, slightly perplexed, and shook his head. "No. I don't"

"It feels like you have woken up in another world all of a sudden. A world that seems exactly like the one you were in, but you still know nothing. You don't know yourself, you don't know those who try to talk to you. And what makes it worse is that you know that you are supposed to be able to recognize them. Yet you can't. You feel like a new born baby, except with the knowledge that things aren't supposed to be that way" she said.

He remained silent, looking at her face that seemed to gleam in the moonlight.

She looked at him and said, "I'm sorry I reacted in that way. You know, when I first woke up. I was just so overwhelmed with shock and fear that I couldn't remember a thing. I guess I should've apologized to you earlier"

"No problem. It must have been really hard for you. No need to apologize" he replied with a smile.

"It was indeed" she said. She then turned to him and said, "I suppose this was what upset you the whole time? My initial reaction?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I noticed that you were acting so much different to Clemont and Bonnie. Both of them were much more excited and lively. But you seemed quite morose at times. I guess something I did upset you" she replied.

"It wasn't that which upset me, Serena" he replied.

"Then what was it? You definitely didn't seem all that comfortable. What has been troubling you all this time?" she asked.

Ash sighed. "Serena. You…I've…we've known each other since quite a long time. We've travelled together for quite a while now, and I…care about you a lot. It's just that I'm really worried about you" he said. He was getting that sinking feeling again- that mix of fear and guilt.

She smiled as he said that.

He sighed and continued. "I…it's just that, sometimes I feel that it's my fault"

"What is your fault?" she inquired.

"You know…all this. Your accident" he replied hesitatingly.

"But why?" she inquired in surprise. "What makes you think this is your fault in any way?"

"You see, we arrived at Laverre City. I was very excited that I was finally going to be able to challenge the Laverre Gym, but Nurse Joy told us that the gym was closed. I was pretty disappointed. Then you suggested that we go to visit the PokeBall Factory- since you felt it was something I would like. And…and this accident of yours, it happened there. You were afraid inside the factory- since it was really dark and creepy. I promised I wouldn't let any harm come to you. And yet…" he said, choking on the last word.

"…ensure…nothing happens to you…promise…" Those muffled words rang in Serena's head. She closed her eyes and strained herself to try and remember it. But all she could remember was those same few words and a very dark and cloudy memory. She gave up soon enough in disappointment.

Meanwhile, Ash closed his eyes as he once again thought of all the various chances he had to steer them, particularly Serena, away from the PokeBall Factory. If he had agreed to camp for an additional day along the Laverre Trail when Serena had suggested it earlier; if he had agreed to relax as Clemont suggested; if he had agreed to turn back the times that Bonnie had mentioned that something didn't seem right. Thinking of all that made him feel worse.

"Ash...don't feel that way at all. It wasn't your fault. You didn't know that all this would happen. So why do you blame yourself for it? I don't blame you at all. In fact, I really appreciate all the help you have given me from the point I can remember. Nurse Joy told me that you helped carry me to the Pokemon Centre, she told me how much you were worried about me; how much more than Clemont and Bonnie. And I have seen how much you helped me in my recovery." she said reassuringly, placing one hand on his shoulder.

She looked at the sky. "I suppose…it was just my bad luck" she said, in a forlorn tone that pulled hard at Ash's heartstrings. "But know this Ash. I don't blame you for anything that happened. I really don't. So please don't be so hard on yourself. You've done nothing wrong at all, I assure you" she continued, turning to look at him. "Okay?" she asked, giving him a wide and bright smile.

Ash felt the warmth of her smile melt his guilt significantly. Once again, she succeeded in making him feel better when he felt like as if all the negative feelings in the world had consumed him. He wondered how she always managed to make him feel so much better without even trying. Each time he was trapped in his cave of negativism, she was always there as the guiding light. The warmth of her words were always pierced the cold of his negativism. Her sweet and almost melodious voice always broke the silence of his moroseness.

She looked at the lake, where the Swanna now moved close together, leaning their heads on each other. They almost seemed to make a heart shape with their necks. It was an incredible sight to behold by itself, and the beauty of it was compounded by the immense beauty of the surrounding landscape. She sighed. "Even if…if I never…regain my memories, I won't ever forget all this. And everything you have done for me from what I can remember" "Thanks for everything that you have done for me" she added, looking at him.

"…if I never regain my memories…" those words rang in Ash's head, sending a chill down his spine. "I hope it never comes to that Serena. I hope you manage to recover fully" he said.

"I hope so too" she replied, almost in tears. They spent a few minutes in silence.

"You know, sometimes I see these flashes. And I hear things that…I can't really make out too well. But I think those are memories. Like when you told me about that promise you made, some of those words vaguely passed through my mind. It is still quite cloudy, but I keep hearing it. Maybe it is a sign that I'm recovering?" she said, breaking the silence.

"Really?" Ash said, his face brightening up. "That's…that's great. I hope you recover soon!" he said. They spent a few more moments together in silence after which they decided to return to the Pokemon Centre. They retired for the night. Ash spent a few moments thinking of the time with her again, and drifted off. Yet Serena remained awake for a while, trying to remember the cloudy flashes of memories and make sense of it. She gave up after a while, and fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 9- Reminiscence

Sounds of coughing filled the room in which the group were staying. Although it was 10am, Bonnie was still lying down in her Tyrunt night-dress, coughing regularly. Clemont laid his hand on her forehead and said, "You are burning with fever. I told you not to play in the rain, didn't I?"

"It isn't because of that" Bonnie replied weakly.

"Oh? Then what is it because of?" Clemont asked sternly, but it was dampened instantly as his sister suffered from another bout of cough.

The door opened and Ash, Serena and Nurse Joy- with a box and a stethoscope in hand, came in. Nurse Joy moved to the bedside and checked Bonnie with a thermometer that she fished out of a box; and then the stethoscope.

"Hmm. It is just a regular fever. I'll give her some medicines, after which she should rest" she said. "And Bonnie, you really shouldn't have gone and played in the rain yesterday" she scolded. She went out of the room and came back a short while later with some medicines.

"Here, swallow this, and this- and this one too" she said, laying three tablets and one capsule in Bonnie's hand after making her sit up a bit. She poured a glass of water and gave it to her. "Then take some rest. Don't forget to have your lunch! Have something, even if you don't feel hungry"

She turned to Clemont and handed him two strips of medicine. "Give one each to her after lunch alright?" she said.

"Thanks Nurse Joy" Clemont said.

"No problem!" she said with a smile, and then took her bag and left the group.

Serena sat down near Bonnie and lay one hand on her forehead and said, "Take some rest Bonnie. Get well soon"

"I hope you get well soon too Serena" Bonnie said weakly.

Serena smiled at her and said, "Don't worry. I will", not as sure herself as she sounded. 10 days had passed since she woke up, and yet she was still unable to remember anything more than occasional, unintelligible flashes.

The trio had an early lunch after which Serena started to read a bit about Laverre City's attractions. She quipped, "Hey guys. How about we go to the Laverre Clock Tower? It is also surrounded by a beautiful park"

"Oh I don't think I will come. I need to take some lunch for Bonnie, and I would rather stay with her until she gets better. I guess you both can go together" Clemont said. Serena looked at Ash.

"Alright. Let's go then" he said. "Pikachu, do you want to come along, or stay with me?" he asked weakly.

"Pika!" it replied, jumping off his shoulder and joining Clemont.

"Alright then. Have fun here!" he said. The two sat around in the Pokemon Centre with Clemont for a short while until he decided it was time for Bonnie to have her lunch. He left them in the lobby. Nurse Joy came up to them soon after and said, "Serena, would you come with me for a while for your check-up"

"Sure, Nurse Joy!" she quipped as she nodded at Ash before following the nurse to a room.

These check-ups were a daily affair. Yet no such recovery came. Ten days had passed since she woke up from her injury. Ten days.

"The recovery should take up to a week and a half at most" Those were the words of Nurse Joy when she told him about the chances that Serena might never recover. Hence, little by little, Ash's hope turned into desperation with every passing day. And on that tenth day, his desperation was at its peak. He hated to think of what it would be like if she never recovered; and had lost sleep over the thought for quite some time.

The door of the room where Nurse Joy and Serena went to opened, and his heart leapt. He looked up with hopes of seeing a smiling Serena skipping towards him and then telling him the news that she was recovering. But his hopes were dashed soon enough as he saw Nurse Joy exiting the room. But more than that, her expression turned his anticipation to worry and despair.

"Nurse Joy! How is she? Is she recovering?" Ash asked as he ran up to her.

She shook her head and said, "I'm afraid she's still the same. She keeps saying that she sees occasional flashes of what she thinks are memories, but otherwise…"

"Oh…" Ash muttered, barely audible.

"She should've shown strong signs of recovery by now…" she said.

"Does this mean…?" he asked, barely able to mention what he feared the most.

"Not necessarily. There is still a possibility that she's showing delayed recovery. The average is ten days, but sometimes it might take longer I suppose" she replied, rather half-heartedly.

He looked at her in disbelief and despair. He opened his mouth to say something, but words failed him.

"Now, now. We haven't passed the ten day mark yet. She could still show signs of recovery later today I suppose. Anyway, it is a beautiful day. Why don't you both go outside and talk a bit?" she suggested quickly.

"Sure I guess" he replied, rather morosely.

"Alright. I'll release her in a couple of minutes" she replied, as she walked into the room and shut the door again. Soon enough, Serena appeared from the room. "So, shall we go now? Nurse Joy said the Central Park is a great place to go to!"

"Yeah sure. Let's so" Ash replied, rather dryly. They then exited the Pokemon Centre and set off to the Central Park.

Ash walked in silence for a long time, with his hands in his pockets. Serena noticed that and finally asked, "Ash? Are you alright? You don't seem very well"

"What? Oh no. I'm fine!" he replied, pulling a quick smile. But in reality, he was immersed in his thoughts. Thoughts that sickened him. He could no longer bear to look at those bright, sea-blue eyes which, before the incident, used to make his heart leap; but only filled him with sadness and worry now.

"Alright" she said, after looking at him for a while. They soon reached the Central Park, which was also where the Laverre Gym was located. The clock tower stood right behind it.

"It looks exactly like a dollhouse, doesn't it?" Serena asked, amused by the looks of the gym.

"Yeah, it does! Apparently it is a Fairy type gym" Ash replied.

It was a sunny noon, and the city's residents were mostly indoors. Apart from a couple sitting under the shade of one tree, having a picnic; and the single man who lay down under another tree a little distance away, the park was empty. The two of them took tickets to the observation deck of the Clock Tower, and went up to the deck.

The view from the observation deck the Clock Tower was astounding. The rain from the previous evening ensured that the visibility was impeccable. The sun shone brightly, adding to the beauty of the view. There stood the quaint, medieval themed city in front of them. As they looked further and further from the clock tower, the number of trees increased, and the number of houses decreased to the point where the Nature Trail began. The occasional flock of Pidgey and Fletchling flew across the sky.

"Laverre City is incredibly beautiful!" Serena said, admiring the view.

"Yeah. It sure is" Ash said, the beauty of the city temporarily taking his mind off things. After some brief silence, Serena asked, "Hey Ash. Why haven't you challenged the Laverre Gym yet? You seem to be quite an enthusiastic trainer, from what Bonnie tells me"

Ash thought for a second and shrugged. "I don't know. It is just that with all this going on, it never really crossed my mind to challenge the gym. I guess I was too worried about your recovery…" he said.

Serena smiled at him. "Tell me. How many badges have you won so far?" she asked.

Ash took out his silver badge case, and had a look at the engraving again. He smiled as he ran his thumb across the engraving. "You know, you gave me this badge case as a gift. And this engraving on top of it? 'Straw-hat girl'? That's what I used to call you when we first met years ago in Pallet Town. You refused to tell me your name, so I called you that- because you wore a straw hat" he reminisced.

Serena looked at the badge case blankly. "Oh! You're the straw hat girl!" -those words rang in Serena's mind. A cloudy memory of a sunset and the view of a bay crossed her mind.

He then opened the case, revealing five shiny badges. He pointed at the Bug Badge and said, "I won this in Santalune City. And you played a key role in it, Serena. I had lost in my first try, and my morale was quite low. You then came up to me in the Pokemon Centre, talked to me, and raised my spirits. That was how we met each other in Kalos; after all those years" He sighed. "You know, you played quite an important role in three of these badges I won. The Bug Badge was one, and here's the second" he continued, and pointed to the Rumble Badge.

"This, I won in Shalour City. Again, your advice helped me out a lot in the battle. I had tried a new rhythm battling strategy, which involved me dancing. You tried to teach me to dance, and you failed." He laughed slightly as he remembered his failed attempt at dancing. "You told me then that I have a unique rhythm of my own. I remembered those words when the strategy in the gym battle was failing, and I went on to win it"

He looked at her and said, "You always used to look at the best things in everyone and bring it out. You always had an optimistic view on things, and you used to pass that optimism to me" She looked at the badge case blankly the whole time, assimilating every word that Ash said.

He gave a deep sigh, and pointed at the last Gym badge- the Voltage Badge. "I won this in Lumiose City- against Clemont. He is the gym leader of Lumiose City. You and I parted ways with Clemont and Bonnie for a week to allow both Clemont and I to train and come up with new strategies. We went to Vaniville Town for the Vaniville Festival. It was there in our practise battle that my Goomy evolved into a Sliggoo. You even gave me the tactic that eventually won me the battle against Clemont"

He stopped. As he said all that, he realized that she was far more important to him than he had initially thought. She had helped him in so many ways throughout his journey. She had supported him so many times. He began to understand the strange feelings he had been feeling towards her ever since their outing in Courmarine City- he had grown to need her. And even though she stood right beside him, it wasn't the Serena he knew. Would Serena ever regain her memories? Or would she remain like this? She was so special to him, yet he was but ordinary to her. As far as she was remembered, she met Ash in the ward in Laverre City; but he remembered the scared, straw-hat girl he befriended in the woods of Pallet Town years ago. The thought of that was heart-rending. Tears attempted to force their way out of his eyes, but he managed to compose himself to a great extent.

"I…really had a great time travelling with you Serena. And…thanks for everything" he said with a heavy heart, turning to look at the scene again, and trying his best not to break into tears.

She looked at the badge case blankly throughout the conversation- being unable to remember anything; and she now looked at him that way because she didn't know what to say. She hadn't thought that the bond she shared with Ash was so special. She then began understand why, despite the fact that she couldn't remember him, she felt strangely drawn towards him.

"I remember how you taught me to ride a Rhyhorn. You hated Rhyhorn racing, yet you were an amazing teacher. That was one unforgettable lesson- 'Be one with the Rhyhorn'", he quipped.

Another cloudy vision came across her mind- and the muffled words of a female voice, "Be one…Rhyhorn" Slowly, her memories seemed to grow clearer- even if just a little bit. They spent a while in silence, watching the landscape when she finally asked, "S-shall we go?"

"Yeah" Ash said, and they went out of the clock tower into the Central Park. Like most of Laverre City, yellowing deciduous trees dotted the Central Park. They walked along the path in silence. Just when Serena was about to say something, two people and one Pokemon jumped out in front of them from the bushes. There was a pink haired lady, a blue haired man and a Meowth.

"Well hello there twerps! Where is Pikachu?!" the woman demanded.

"Not you three again! Can't you leave us for once?!" Ash retorted.

"Why? You have a problem with that?" the Meowth spoke out.

"A talking Pokemon?!" Serena blurted out in surprise.

"Huh? You're acting like you've never seen me before!" Meowth replied.

"I haven't!" Serena said.

Meowth was taken aback. "What is wrong with the Twerpette?" the woman asked.

"I don't know Jess. Is she playing around with us?" the man replied.

"Can you just leave us alone?!" Ash snapped.

"Aww. Are we interfering in the little date of yours? Is that why Pikachu isn't with you?" the lady asked in a mocking voice.

"That's bad Jess. Did we spoil the date of the two lovebirds?" the man said sniggering.

"Date?!" Serena exclaimed.

"Hey, what's with the new hairstyle? And the new attire? Finally realized how classless your previous attire was? Oh wait, this is no better!" Jessie said, drawing peals of laughter from James and Meowth.

"Classless?! Who do you people think you are?!" Serena exclaimed, clearly annoyed.

"Oh well. We might as well play along. As such, our introduction was in order" the woman said, clearing her throat. "Prepare for trouble!"

"Trouble?!" Serena exclaimed again, completely confused.

"Why yes! And make that double!" the man said.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love"

"To extent our reach to the stars above"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"WOBBUFFET!" came a fourth voice of the blue Pokemon that came out of Jessie's PokeBall.

The ordeal triggered some foggy memory of the same lines in Serena. She shook her head and said, "You could've just told us your names you know!"

"What's with you anyway?" a dazed Meowth asked. "You are acting as if you've never seen us!"

"Who cares?! Now hand us your Pokemon!" Jessie said.

"You know that will never happen, Team Rocket! And don't even try to hurt her in any way!" Ash said, stepping in front of Serena.

"Aww. Isn't that sweet? Pumpkaboo! Come out!" Jessie barked, calling out her Pumpkaboo.

"Okay Inkay, you too!" James called out, revealing his Inkay.

Ash stepped backwards. The Team Rocket duo then ordered a Psybeam and Shadow Ball, which collided at the ground right in front of his feet. The force of the impact made them both lose balance, and Serena fell down near a tree with an exclamation of pain.

"Serena!" Ash exclaimed as he heard her exclamation. He looked at her nursing her knee. His rage had passed its breaking point. "Goodra, I choose you!" Team Rocket watched in horror as the white light assumed a huge, menacing shape; but relaxed when the light revealed a very friendly looking creature, dripping slime from its outstretched hands.

"Well, that doesn't seem too menacing!" Meowth said with a wide grin.

However looks were deceiving, as they soon found out after they were at the receiving end of a powerful Dragon Pulse.

As they flew into the air, Meowth asked again, "What's with the twerpette? Why was she acting that way?"

"I'm more interested in knowing why the twerp was so angry at us! If I get my hands on him again…" Jessie said in rage.

"Jess. We always get our hands on him, only to get blasted off like now" James said.

"Team Rocket is blasting off again!" came the chorus.

Back on the ground, Ash recalled his Goodra quickly and rushed towards Serena, who watched the short battle from the sidelines. The blasting off of Team Rocket again triggered foggy reminisces.

"Serena? Are you okay?" a worried Ash asked.

"Yeah. I just scraped my knee against this rock" Serena said, laying one hand on her knee and wincing.

Ash took a look. She had skinned her knee, and it was bleeding slightly. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. Just as he was about to tie the handkerchief to her knee, he took a second look at it, and smiled as he began to tie it around her lightly bleeding knee. "This reminds me so much about how we first met Serena" he said as he reminisced.

"Huh?" Serena said, looking at him blankly.

"Yeah. Some years back, you had come to Pallet Town for a summer camp held by Professor Oak. You had gotten lost in the woods and you had fallen down. You were quite scared out of your wits, and I happened to come that side. I saw you on the ground. You said your knee was injured, so I tied a handkerchief around it and guided you back to the camp" he said. "As it happens, it is the very same handkerchief I am tying right now" He finished tying it, and he let his hand linger on her leg for a moment.

He looked at her and said, "You wore a straw hat back then- which is why I called you the straw hat girl. I helped you get up, and said the words, 'never give up til' it's over.' That became a sort of motto for us. You said those same words to me when we met again in Santalune City- after I had lost my gym battle in the first try"

He got up and offered his hand.

"I guess I'll say the same thing now for you Serena" he continued. "For your recovery. Never give up til it's over"

"…give up til it's over" Those words rang in her mind once again. She saw a short flash of a blue Pokemon- a Poliwag, as she extended her arm towards Ash. He pulled her up. However this time, unlike their first meeting, they didn't fall into an embrace. Instead, they looked deep into each other's eyes.

That was the breaking point. Ash turned away, and walked a bit of a distance away. Her clear, blue eyes seemed like an endless ocean. While he told her to never give up, he had given up. His heart and hopes had sunk completely. He began to come to terms that she would never regain her memories anymore. All the special moments they shared together so far, every little moment they had with each other- all undone by that single attack commanded by that nasty Team Flare Admin. Few tears, heavy with emotion rolled down his cheeks as he closed his eyes and let the thought sink in. He had lost her. She was no longer the Serena he knew.

What made it even harder for him to accept was that he finally realized how special Serena was to him. And more than that, he understood the strange feeling that grew in him every day since their outing in Courmarine City. He had grown…to love her. Every memory they shared had brought him to this. She was special to him, yet he was but ordinary in her eyes. She remembered nothing about them. Nothing special, nothing ordinary either.

"I miss you, Serena. Please…please come back" he muttered to himself as he lightly and quietly sobbed, as the weight of his emotions grew heavier and heavier, and the pressing notion kept sinking in deeper. He had lost her.

Behind him, Serena stood frozen in the same pose- with the same blank stare, looking at Ash's direction. However, she was seeing something else. Something she yearned to see every day since she had woken up in the ward. One memory cleared up completely. To someone watching her, it would seem like she was frozen in that pose. But she was watching the whole scene once again- of their first meeting. That memory was completely defogged. Along with it, almost like a domino effect, other memories started clearing up too.

"The Rhyhorn is just playing with you Serena" a maternal voice sounded as she felt the warmth of an embrace. Her mother was hugging her after she was thrown off the back of a Rhyhorn. It switched to another memory. "Be one with the Rhyhorn!" her mother yelled out at her as the Rhyhorn she was riding on was thrashing about. One by one, her memories cleared up. She watched her life till that point in fast-forward: all those unpleasant times of Rhyhorn racing practice since she was a little girl, to that day when she watched the news to watch the rampaging Garchomp being calmed down by a boy who was none other than Ash himself.

She reminisced the beginning of her journey- and her selection of Fennekin at Professor Sycamore's lab; the excitement of getting a glimpse of Ash as he was battling, and losing against Viola the first time; the disappointment when he passed by her without noticing.

"Do you want to travel with me, Serena?" Those were the words he used when he asked her if she wanted to join him, and the blonde siblings in his journeys after he had won the Santalune Gym. There was the group photo they took where she stood close to Ash when they were with Korrina, looking for the Lucarionite. She remembered the time when she clutched his hand and held on to him when he jumped back into their dimension from the Mirror World; the Summer Camp of Kalos- where they had fallen down the small cliff and had a talk while they waited for Clemont and Bonnie to bring help; and then their little training session, and Ash's failed attempt at dancing before the Shalour gym.

She reminisced their little outing at Courmarine City, where she gave him a gift- the badge case that he had shown her in the observation deck of the Clock Tower. She placed her fingers on her cheek as she remembered the kiss she gave him on his cheek. She remembered the warmth of his support when she had lost her first Tripokelon. Then she saw Ash laughing and calling out to her as he slid down the hills of Vaniville as they happily raced to reach the gates first. Then there was the Vaniville Festival- where the two of them stood in the open field, looking at the moonlit landscape; and the battle that they had which saw the evolution of both Fennekin and Goomy- and how she gave him the strategy that won him the Lumiose gym battle.

Her memories ran through the Pokemon Care Home, the Nature Trail, and the fateful time at the PokeBall Factory ending with her crashing against the tree. Her memory continued from the point of her waking up in the ward, Ash's moroseness, and their time at the Nature Trail's lake in that beautiful night.

And finally, she saw the scared little girl wearing a straw hat walking through the woods. She saw the Pokemon which frightened that little girl and made her fall down, and then the boy who helped her get back on her feet after tying a handkerchief around her knee- the same handkerchief that was tied around her knee at that moment.

"Poliwag…" she said.

Ash froze. Was he imagining it? "Huh?!" he exclaimed, looking up. He still had his back turned to her.

She walked close to him, laid one hand on his shoulder and said, "The Pokemon that made me fall down that time in Pallet Town was a Poliwag"

Ash turned around in surprise. "Serena?" he asked in disbelief.

"My memories are coming back to me Ash" she continued.

"They are?" he asked. A scenario that, for a while, had only been a figment of his happy dreams was playing out in reality. His face brightened up instantly. He ran his arm across his eyes, quickly drying out his tears. "They are? You are recovering?" he asked again.

"Yes. They are. They really are! I am recovering!" she said with a cool smile, although she was brimming with excitement and happiness.

Standing in front of her was the happiest person in the planet. To her surprise, he embraced her. "I'm so glad Serena. I'm so glad to have you back" he said, breaking into some tears of joy. "I thought I had lost you…"

She gently returned the embrace and said, "I'm glad too Ash" She closed her eyes, allowing the warmth of the embrace, and the relief of recovery to fill her. "I'm so glad I managed to recover"

The hug lasted for a while. Both of them wanted to remain in that embrace. The frost of worry and fear that had filled the two of them in the past several days was thawing out in that warm embrace.

* * *

><p>From a distance, a lady stood, watching them in deep admiration. "Such love…" she said to herself. "Isn't it, Spritzee?" she asked the Pokemon floating beside her dreamily.<p>

"Zee!" it replied in agreement.

The lady sighed. "If the two of them don't end up together eventually, I would be really surprised!"

"Zee! Zee!" her Spritzee acknowledged.

* * *

><p>The two of them released their hug after a while. She said, "Each time, you make me feel even more indebted to you. Thank you so much for the care you showed in the past few days. I really can't thank you enough for this Ash. I…" She stopped short as she laid her hand to her head. She then remembered that she had cut her hair short.<p>

Ash saw it and said, "Don't worry about that Serena. You look just fine. I meant it when I said that back then. And there's no need to thank me. How could I not care about you?"

Serena smiled. The two of them stood alone in the sun-bathed Central Park, looking at each other's eyes for a while- almost in silent communication. The events of the past couple of weeks had strengthened their feelings for each other much more.

"Well then. Shall we get back?" Serena asked after a while, rather reluctantly. She wanted to stay with him at the park for a while- with just the two of them around in that beautiful day.

He looked at her bright, blue eyes that glinted like crystals. He didn't want to go back. He wanted to spend more time with her alone. "Some other day, Ash", he told himself. "Yeah. Clemont and Bonnie are in for a huge surprise!" Ash said aloud gleefully. He had never felt happier in his life. After spending the past few days fighting against the negative thoughts, after spending the past few days getting worried sick, they had finally come through. Serena was back to normal.

They walked past the Laverre Gym, where the same lady who watched them before stood. She stopped them and said, "You both really share a fantastic bond with each other…" in almost a dreamy voice. "Zee!" the floating Spritzee beside her seconded. The lady wore a bizarre dress which seemed to have extensions like wings. Her eyes were huge- covering almost all the space available in her cornea, and seemed like black pearls. "I suppose I'll leave you both now…come, Spritzee…" she said as she walked away. Ash and Serena stared at her for a while, and then looked at each other and shrugged. They would soon meet her again, for she was Valerie- the Laverre Gym leader.

* * *

><p>They returned to their room in the Pokemon Centre. "Surprise, guys!" Serena said happily. "I'm back!"<p>

Clemont and Bonnie- who was still lying down stared at her, and then looked at Ash, who wore a bright smile. They understood what it meant. Clemont and Bonnie- who was fuelled with energy when she knew the girl who was like her big sister had recovered, rushed towards Serena.

"Serena! I'm so glad you finally recovered!" Bonnie said, hugging her before she broke into a bout of cough.

"Take it easy, Bonnie" Serena replied, laughing a bit at her excitement and hugging her. "I'm glad I recovered too"

Nurse Joy heard their happy chatter from outside, and she knew that Serena had finally recovered. She smiled, and continued on her duties, with the knowledge that the four would make much more memories together in their further travels; and that the memory loss had only resulted in even stronger and deeper memories being created.


End file.
